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How valuable is Apple's brand value in the United States? $104.7 billion, or almost a quarter of the company's $474.32 billion market cap and "more than the cost of the Apollo Space program in today's dollars." The figure was recently published in the Brand Finance U.S. 500, a study that ranks the most valuable brands in the U.S and also determines the total brand value of U.S. companies based on market sector, location and more.

In the United States, Google trails Apple with a brand value of $68.6 billion, followed by Microsoft ($62.8 billion), Verizon ($53.5 billion), GE ($52.5 billion), AT&T ($45.4 billion), Amazon ($45.1 billion), Walmart ($44.8 billion), IBM ($41.5 billion) and Coca-Cola ($33.7 billion).

Apple, Brand Finance said, is the "first and only brand to be valued at over $100 billion." That's quite impressive, and even more so considering there are just five brands valued more than $50 billion in the U.S. The top 500 brands are valued at more than $2.5 trillion, combined. There are some popular international brands, too. Samsung's brand is valued at $78.8 billion. Vodafone, a major international carrier, has a brand value of $29.6 billion.

It's not incredibly surprising, given the list we just covered, that technology brands dominates the landscape with a 22 percent share of the top 500 U.S. firms. Tech is followed by retail and apparel, valued at $341 billion with a 14 percent share, financial services with a $305 billion value and a 12 percent share and telecoms and media with a $304 billion combined brand value and a 12 percent share. California is home to 61 of the top 500 U.S. brands with a brand value of $484 billion combined, while New York is the second largest state, with 75 of the hottest 500 brands and $422 billion in combined brand value.

Brand might not seem like that big of a deal, but it really is. Brand Finance said that "72 percent of business value in the USA is made up intangible assets, such as brand." How long will Apple maintain its spot?