The Apple(ap-uhl) Corporation:
As any legend(lej-uhnd) goes, Apple started in a garage and is now a leading multinational corporation that designs and manufactures consumer(kuhn-soo-mer) electronics and software products.
Established in Cupertino on April(ey-pruhl)1, 1976, the company was co-founded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak and has positioned itself in a unique(yoo-neek) position in the consumer electronics industry. Apple was incorporated in 1977; Mike Markkula provide essential business expertise(ek-sper-teez) and funding of $250,000 Wozniak left Apple in 1983 due to a diminishing interest in the day to day running of Apple computers, Jobs then hired PepsiCo’s John Sculley to be president. (from Apple Computer: This month in Business History) The Apple ll was introduced April, 1977 at the first west coast computer fair…it differed from its major rivals, the TRS-80, and Commodore PET, in that it had color graphics and open architecture(ahr-ki-tek-cher). The Apple 2s popularity increased as the VisiCalc program enabled it to be used for office work. The Apple ll was superseded by the Apple lll (May 1980), and the company began competing with IBM and Microsoft in the business and computing model(mod-l).
In Dec 1979 Xerox(zeer-oks) granted Apple engineers three days of access to the PARC facilities in exchange for $1 million in pre ico stock. The Xerox machine they reviewed used the GUI (graphical user interface) model which has windows, menus, radio(rey-dee-oh) buttons, checkboxes and icons(ahy-kon). Jobs was convinced that all future computers would have the GUI model and development for the next model, the Apple Lisa was begun.
In 1983 Lisa became the first personal computer sold to the public with a GUI, but it was a commercial failure due to the high price tag and limited titles. Apple launched the Macintosh(mak-in-tosh) in 1984 in a landmark television super bowl commercial. The computer initially sold well, but it wasn’t until the laser(ley-zer) writer was introduced that sales dramatically increased. The rise of desktop publishing continued as the Mac was making inroads into the educational market. The Mac’s advanced graphics capabilities were attributed to its success and growth(grohth) in the educational sector.
The rise of Macintosh and the continued strong sales led to the initial public offering in 1984. The public offering(IPO) was the largest of any company since the IPO of Ford Motor company in 1956. Sales jumped from 7.8 million in 1978 to 117 million in 1980. In 1985 a power struggle was created between jobs and John Sculley, the board later favored Sculley and Jobs was removed from his managerial duties., Jobs resigned and formed his own company NeXT the same year. (from Apple Inc. New World Encyclopedia pages 1-5, (5/5/2016)) Jobs founded NeXT and would then buy Pixar, now a Disney owned company, that produces award-winning animated(an-uh-mey-tid) movies.
Apples continued to rise(rahyz) in popularity due to its connection with the educational sector, in part due to its donating of an Apple ll computer with a software package(LOGO) to each public school in the state of California.
In September 1989, Apple released the Macintosh portable, a black and white portable with a hinged cover and a built-in mouse trackball. Sales were limited due to its bulk and limited battery life. (from Apple Inc. New World Encyclopedia pages 1-5, (5/5/2016)) By 1991, Apple introduced the PowerBook, which set the standard for modern ergonomic layout and operating system 7. The operating system was used until 2001.
Throughout the 1980s Apple was still doing well mostly because jobs had set in motion a deal with Adobe(uh-doh-bee) that triggered a desktop publishing phenomenon. However, in the next few years, apple market share would dramatically decrease until around 1996 when experts thought the company was doomed. in 1997, Apple bought out Job’s NeXt software, which then provided a new line of software products, Jobs became an interim CEO and began expanding office software to include the Microsoft line of products designed for Mac computers. This decision can be seen as the turning point in the Apple corporation. Jobs revamped the computers and introduced the iBook. He then started to branch out into mp3 players(iPod) and media players for software(iTunes). The iPod and the iTunes soon became the most profitable division in the company. Steve Jobs died in 2011, a tremendous loss for the company, he was mourned worldwide.
The success of the PowerBook and other products dominated until the late 1990s when Apple experienced its best-ever years. This Golden(gohl-duhn) age then led to several failed attempts at introducing some new lines to compete at a lower price. Apple introduces the Centis line and the Performa line both performing poorly as well as the Newton division. Apple always looking for innovation also tried many different consumer products such as digital cameras speakers and TV appliances, none of which(wich) proved to be unprofitable leading to a downturn in the stock price. In 1990 Apple introduced the Macintosh LC with a single slot for the Apple ll users to help move them to the new platform.
As Apple continued to develop(dih-vel-uhp) it’s hardware, Microsoft quickly took the lead in software development and bundling of software products together. Apples' reputation(rep-yuh-tey-shuhn) was damaged by problems and missed deadlines. A lawsuit between the two rivals regarding the graphical user interface was thrown out of court and Apple continued to take the heat. Michael Spindler soon replaced Sculley as CEO(Chief Executive Officer).
By the 1990s Apple was developing alternative platforms to the Macintosh systems such as the a/ux. The old Mac platform(plat-fawrm) could not perform multiple tasks and was quickly becoming outdated. The competition from Sun Microsystems was from their os/2 and Unix(yoo-niks). In 1994 Apple formed the AIM alliance with IBM and Motorola to create a new computing platform. This Power PC reference which used IBM and Motorola hardware along with the Apple software. The alliance(uh-lahy-uhns) had hoped this combination would compete against Microsoft dominance in the market. Apple also introduced later that year the Power PC which used the IBM power pc processor
In 1996 Spindler was replaced by Gil Amelio as the CEO of Apple. Amelio made many changes including a substantial reduction in the workforce. Amelio also tried to improve the Mac OS system by integrating it with the Taligent project, and then the Copland and Gershwin operating(op-uh-rey-ting) systems. Amelio also decided to purchase the next step operating system and bring Jobs in as an advisor. However, by 1997 a record low in the stock price led to the ouster of Gil Amelio who was replaced by Steve Jobs as the interim(in-ter-uhm) CEO. Jobs who was loved by the industry quickly forged deals with Microsoft bringing in both a fuller integration of new Microsoft products and a very sweet stock deal to bolster the brand and the industry.
By 2001 Apple jumped into a new business that of made to order computers sold through its namesake stores. The first stores were in Virginia(ver-jin-yuh) and New York. These high-end ultra-modern stores became an instant hit in many exclusive and hip neighborhoods. The stores featured a Genius Desk for customer service as well as classes to test out computers, laptops, and musical equipment. The fun atmosphere(at-muhs-feer)proved to tremendous success, and Apple was back in favor. Apple soon then introduced the iMac an all in one piece of computer hardware. The screen, keyboard, and all the software was ready to go. The sleek designs and stainless(steyn-lis) look captivated the public it sold more than 800,000 units in the first five months and of the first time since 1993 Apple to profitability.
During the late 1990s, Apple purchased several companies trying to add to its software portfolio. These companies included macromedias final cut software, which it later turned into iMovie for consumers and final cut pro for professional video editing. In 2002, Apple purchased, Nothing Real, for its digital compositing application called Shake and as well as Emagic for its application later called Garage Band. iPhoto’s offering the same year completed its ilife suite
In 2001 after several years of development, Apple finally released os x. This system was based on the next open step and bsd Unix and was released to combine the stability, reliability, and security of Unix at a more affordable price. The os x (os 10) was also able to use the os 9 system with full integration. In 2001, Apple introduced the iPod portable digital(dij-i-tl) audio player. The product's success was unbelievable, with over 100 million units being sold within six years.
By 2003 Apple then introduced the iTunes store and by 2008 there had been more than 5 billion downloads making it the market leader in online music services. The store featured downloads at only .99 per song, a new era in the music industry had begun. (from Apple Computer: This month in Business History) At the worldwide developers' conference, Steve Jobs announced that an agreement had been made with Intel to start using the Intel's core duo CPU. By 2006 Apple changed the entire line to Intel chips. Apple then replaces the power mac, iBook, and PowerBook brands with the mac pro-MacBook and MacBook Pro.
Apple also began to reach out more to its consumers by introducing boot camp software which helped guide new consumers through the process of installing Apple software. As Apple began to dominate the electronic consumer market the stock(stok) price soared going from $6 per share to well over a $100 per share.
But Apples greatest success(suhk-ses) was yet to come, with the introduction of the iPhone and iTV. By 2007, Apple also announced that it would remove the DRM technology and allow the sharing of music. The next great innovation was the launch of the app store — an online market for third-party applications for the iPhone and iPad. Within one month the store had sold 60 million applications and averaged 1 million dollars a day. By April of 2009, more than one billion apps had been downloaded, and some were even free.
In Jan. 2010, Apple introduced the iPad-- the device sold more than 300,000 units the first day and more than 500,000 by the end of the first week. In May of 2010, Apples' market cap exceeded(ik-seeded) Microsoft for the first time since 1989. By June 2010 of that year, Apple introduced the iPhone 4 as well as a suite of music devices such as iPod Nano, and iPod touch, an iPod shuffle(shuhf-uhl). Apple also upgraded the MacBook Air laptop, ilife suite of application and mac os x lion. Advertising campaigns with known musical talent were well received. A new era in the music industry(in-duh-stree) had begun.
From 2011 to current Apple has been relaunching and improving their bestselling service the iPhone.
When the iPhone was launched(lawnched) in September of 2012, it became the biggest iPhone launch with over two million, and when the iPad mini hit the market, it sold more than 3 million units in 3 days. In comparison, Apple sold 51 million iPhone in the first quarter of 2014. 2. For the fiscal 2016 third quarter Apple had the following: revenue between 41 and 43 billion dollars, a gross margin between 37.5 and 38 percent, operating expenses between 6 billion and 6.1 billion, other income/expense of $300 million, and a tax rate of 25.5%. Apples total revenue as of 9/26/2015 was $233,715,000 in (000s) with a cost of revenue at 140,089,000 resulting in a gross profit of $93,626,000(000s).
Variable(vair-ee-uh-buhl) costs are an expense that varies with production output(out-poot). As production increases, variables costs increase, as production decreases variable costs fall. Variable costs differ from fixed costs such as rent, advertising, and other expenses that remain constant — apples' variable costs which also include labor, research, and development. For the quarter ending 9/26/2015 Apple spent $8,067,000(000s) on Research and Development up more than 2 billion from the previous year. For sales, General and Admin Apple spent $14,329,000 up more than 2 billion from the previous year. This produced an operating income of $71,230,000(000s) up more than 19 billion from the previous year. Additional expenses increased from 960,000 to 1,285,000(000s), from previous year.
This resulted in earnings before interest and tax of $72,515,000(000s) an increase from the previous year ($53,483,000). For the period ending 9/26/2015, Apple paid an income tax of $19,121,000(000s) an increase of more than 5 billion dollars ($13,973,000) from the previous year (9/27/2015). This resulted in a net income of $53,394,000 up from previous year 2014($39,510,000).
Apple is a perfect example of an oligopoly(ol-i-gop-uh-lee). Apple sells and creates high-end complex(kom-pleks) electronic media devices. For another company to start to make computers or cell phones would be virtually impossible. The expense to enter the market is very high, and only the largest companies can enter this particular market. Competition is usually from companies of a similar size. The rise of the oligopoly(ol-i-gop-uh-lee) is of course due to the high expense of startup and the need for advanced research and manufacturing capabilities. Some other oligopolies are cable TV services, the Airline industry, Pharmaceuticals, Metals(met-l) including Gold(gohld) and Steel, the Auto industry, the film industry, the music industry. In each case, there are a few leaders, and in some cases, only three or four control the entire market. Apple is a tremendous leader in the Market and continues to show growth, innovation, and development, making it even harder for any newcomers.
This article would not be complete without an update including the Apple watch, a device that connects you to the internet and beyond.
