South Korea's top conglomerate Samsung, which holds one of the leading smartphone makers Samsung Electronics Co. under its wing, was declared as the second-most valuable brand in the globe, data showed Thursday.

The price tag on the Samsung brand was estimated at $81.7 billion in 2015, up 4 percent from a year earlier, according to the data released by market researcher Brand Finance. The top throne was taken by its bigger rival, Apple, whose brand value was estimated at $128.3 billion.

The brand value was based on companies' financial health and brand loyalty of consumers.

Other tech brands followed, with Google and Microsoft estimated at $76.6 billion and $67 billion, respectively. U.S. mobile carrier Verizon held a price tag of $59.8 billion, making it into the top-five bracket.

Most other most-valuable brands were also from the tech industry, with AT&T taking sixth place at $58.8 billion. U.S. e-commerce giant Amazon followed at $56.1 billion, trailed by General Electric, China Mobile and Wal-Mart at $48 billion, $47.9 billion and $46.7 billion, respectively.

Eight of the top-10 valuable brands were of U.S. origin, while South Korea and China held one each.

Hyundai, LG and SK -- other top industry leaders in South Korea that stretch to various sectors, including automobiles and construction -- claimed 49th, 98th and 114th place, respectively, the data showed. (Yonhap)