Apple and Jobs have truly changed the world. Don’t get me wrong, I know that Apple wasn’t the first one with smartphone, but it did what the smartphones before it didn’t. Integrated many complex things and simplified them such that a common man can use this hi-tech device.
Just last week I was in Taiwan, where not many people speak English, and I don’t speak any Mandarin at all, and without any problem I was able to use my Google Maps app on my iPhone to get directions from my hotel to the National Palace Museum in Taipei using the public transport system. How cool is that!
2
So Shira Ovide of Bloomberg thinks investors may begin to consider whether Apple is worth one trillion.
How patently absurd. The market considers valuation every second with every buy and sale and discounts that uncertainty with its stock price.
The market is fully aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the company and they are reflected in its relatively modest P/E.
3
You left out another reason for the current valuation: Stock buy backs due to the corporate tax cuts.
1
@Paul buybacks are a great way for a company to distribute cash to its shareholders. It’s better than a divided; shareholders pay taxes on dividends but not on the money spent on buybacks, until they sell and pay any capital gains taxes
The $1 trillion dollar mark is definitely a new record for greed.
From what I read, Apple from twenty years ago is incredibly different from the Apple today because of how much money both versions have. They went from the smallest company in the business to the highest worth company in America. this topic is interesting because it shows that it does not matter where anyone starts, and it is always possible to be the best. This whole article shows how Apple rose to the top, and how each decision impacted the company.
2
Apple is one of the biggest corporations that i know. I mean when people ask us to name company's or products we know most of us name products from Apple or Apple itself. This is because from a young age a lot of people saw how technology became a way that everyone lives life. Apple has been really successful from when it released or introduced the Apple 1 on April 11,1976 to now. Apple has had many competitors but is probably used by more people. Its weird to think that Apple could ever be close to going bankrupted.
Apple is worth $1 trillion, now that is crazy. From releasing computers to now more products than ever. There is not a question I can really answer for this article. But i believe that Apple is going to continue to grow and become bigger than it has ever been.
1
How can you write a story about this without mentioning MacWorld Boston where Bill Gates showed up on the screen and saved Apple with a ~$150 million investment? He showed up live on the big screen and the audience booed. BUt it saved Apple! And of course, made Microsoft a ton of money. It also helped stave off all of the anti-trust talk. A viable Apple meant Microsoft was not a monopoly.
2
Apple pays its taxes, its dividend is taxed, and capital gains on Apple stock are taxed. Is that not enough for greedy Big Government?
2
Count me among those who think Apple should pay its fair share of taxes.
Apple is a proprietary, quasi-monopoly by-design that genuinely creates real value in its products and also extracts huge amounts of "rents" from captive customers who are often educated but not technical. Its products are good and over-priced, but, extraordinarily usable. Usability is Apple's true core-competency.
But while they make it easy for you to use them, they are using you.
I watched a gushing Chris Hayes get conned by Steve Cook in a town hall interview (where Cook trashed Zuckerberg). Cook pretended that the Bush tax cuts to Apple would result in "extra" investment and jobs in America. The con was he counted millions of (non-payroll) app developers as "jobs created by Apple", and jobs from a plan to open a call center somewhere, regardless of the tax cut. A short time thereafter Apple announced a huge stock buy back. Knew it. Saw it coming. Chris Hayes? Not so much.
I admire Cook for the position he took on the FBI warrant to protect the security of the iPhone, and I admire Cook personally, but don't be fooled, he is committed first to his shareholders.
It's a complex world. It's too late to be "onto" these tech giants, they snuck up on us when we werent looking, to create monopoly positions from which to extract huge rent profits.
If you can't beat em, join em. Invest in tech mutual funds or something. Its a complex world.
@Paul "Trump" tax cuts.
1
Who's Steve Cook?
As is appropriate for any company, Apple pays the taxes required by law.
1
When Apple bought NEXT in 1997, I thought it was the stupidest acquisition I'd ever seen (soon surpassed, however, by EBay's acquisition of Skype, which still holds the record). I still think that, but if that was the only way for Apple to get Steve Jobs back, it was worth it. No question that Jobs turned Apple around. It took 10 years after his return for Apple's stock price to begin its strong rise, but eventually it did rise, and it's never stopped.
8
@MyThreeCents It was not Jobs that the deal bought, but the UNIX based OS system that they were using in NEXT which eventually becomes the OS10, which we still use to this day.
2
"You try not paying your taxes and see what happens?"
When I see comments like this one, I wonder whether the commenter knows that Apple IS paying its taxes. If Apple weren't, the IRS would be sending Apple a nasty letter.
1
@MyThreeCents of course Apple pays it taxes. It’s the largest taxpayer on the planet. I suspect those who whine about Apple not paying its taxes won’t be happy until tax rates are 100% of net worth.
2
@MyThreeCents Tax "evasion", like treason, doth never prosper. What's the reason? If it does, none dare call it "evasion."
I appreciate the fact that ultra rich entities can buy Democratic legislation and your mind share to redefine what "paying your taxes" means. But remember that to meet Reconciliation rules the tax breaks given to corporations had to be partially offset by higher taxes levied on individuals, like me, and probably you.
A "loophole" for Apple was forgiven and opened wider. A non-loophole for us was called a "loophole" and then closed.
It takes my breath away.
1
... Johny Ive ... (stupid Spellcheck!)
It wouldn’t have killed you to give Johnny I’ve a little bit of the credit for Apple’s success.
"I wonder how long Apple can get away with selling an overpriced phone that is not much better than the competition."
I've heard many customers have balked at the $1,000+ price of the iPhone X. But so far that has boosted Apple's sales of the preceding model, the iPhone 8 (of which my family members, including me, own 4), thus boosting current Apple revenues and profits. As for the $1,000+ iPhone X, however, I'm skeptical that Apple will sell many of those. It may have hit the price limit on its iPhones.
1
I've heard numbers like this:
"If they made the new $1000 iPhone in the USA they would have to charge $3000/cellphone."
Several years back, the NYT ran a "feel good" story about some town in South Carolina that had lost a big company to China about 20 years earlier but which (the company) had recently returned to South Carolina.
The article featured a photo of a worker operating a very large machine. The caption said he was performing the same task his father had performed a generation earlier -- along with 68 other workers.
I remember "translating" that photo: One worker + 1 very large machine had replaced 69 workers. Inevitable, to be sure, but clearly the company that "returned" to South Carolina wasn't the same company that had left 20 years earlier.
@MyThreeCents If apple made it's products in the US at their current prices the only difference is the shareholders would not be making as much money. A little math: Say you sell 1 million iphones at $1,000 for a total of $1,000,000,000 billion. The cost of production being $200 per phone and you are left with a profit of $800,000,000 million. Simplified, yes, but point made.
Five men are the majority share holders, I sure hope they can afford to pay their rent.
1
@Joan Chamberlain I would guess that the majority of all Americans are exposed to Apple stock either directly or via mutual funds. Apple’s stock performance has financed countless retirements, college educations, houses, and put billions in the pockets of shareholders. As for what the shareholders can afford, that’s none of your business. Let’s see your checkbook and see what you can afford
@Larry The share of the pie for stock holders after the 5 major share holders are paid is 15 percent. Most Americans do not have stock portfolios or benefit from stocks. It amazes me the extent that some people will go to defend greed. Perhaps it is the hope of someday becoming a master of the universe themselves. Don't hold your breath.
Apple stockholders did very well before 1987 and after about 2007. In between those two years, though, Apple stock was essentially flat.
I've been using exclusively Apple computers for several decades, and used to own a lot of Apple stock. I remember very well that Apple was on the ropes 20 years ago. The Internet made operating systems unimportant, and that saved Apple.
Much has changed since then. Twenty years ago, listeners would have called you crazy if you predicted any of the following events, all of which have come true:
1. Bill and Hillary Clinton will still be married, but Al and Tipper Gore will not be.
2. Apple will be the largest corporation in the history of the world, with a market cap more than double that of Microsoft.
1
@MyThreeCents or that Hillary would not be in jail
1
Time to present some facts and reality to the fact-free left. Fact: Apple is the world’s largest taxpayer. Fact: we could confiscate Apple’s entire trillion dollar market cap and that would pay for barely 4 months of Big Government spending. The claim that we could have free healthcare and free education and free everything if only Apple paid just a little more in taxes is demonstrably false.
https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2017/11/the-facts-about-apple-tax-payments/
6
@Larry
It's not just Apple, it's all of the big corporations keeping their money abroad that is hurting our system.
You try not paying your taxes and see what happens?
1
@D Apple pays its taxes. Money will go to wherever it is treated best. When greedy Big Government stops forcing Apple and other corporations to keep money overseas they’ll bring it home. When greedy Big Government welcomes (instead of taxing) overseas money when it comes home, it will come home
"Steve Jobs said Apple was 90 days from bankruptcy in 1997. Now it is worth $1 trillion." Just goes to show, it really DOES float!
1
Cults are profitable. Just look at religion!
I imagine most of the critical comments were posted via the writers’ iPhone nytimes app.
3
"... via the writers’ iPhone nytimes app."
The Times has an Android app, and comments can be posted from any web browser.
If you want to accuse someone of hypocrisy, it is a good idea to start with some facts, not with what you "imagine".
Good article, but follows the typical path of cynacism in ots conclusion. Do we really need to lectured about how Apple would face technical hurdles if it moves forward with self-driving cars and are glasses? In fact, unlike many other companies that have rushed products to market and either yet achieved success or just failed, Apple has been much more cautious. The irony is that they are criticized for just that wise caution.
And when we talk about innovation, the author fails to mention the Airpods (a smashing success), and the HomePod (a wildy creative device that sends out fabulous sounding music). And isnt the whole American economy threatened by a trade way with China?
Whenever Apple succeeds, the maysayers pop out of the woodwork, dying to get attention with negative spin. Lets just recognize, and congratulate Apple on its success. It was not handed to them on a silver platter. They built what they have and i commend the for their success.
2
Huh. Its a good thing we don't tax them. It not like they use any of the services or resources our society provides.
2
More than creating interesting products, Apple has managed to build a cult. That lies at the heart of its growth to this level. iPhone more or less has become a "subscription" business, every two years users buying the next model, and some not even waiting that long.
We should also be thinking to possibility of creating another "too big to fail" company that may one day put all Americans under financial stress as we saw in companies that were a fraction of Apple's current size.
Steve Jobs, and Apple should also be thankful that Microsoft came to support them at the bottom of their cycle by infusing money to Apple.
I am happy for the success of any American company given that it does not become a burden for all in the future and shows enough patriotism to bring back the hundreds of billions of dollars it keeps outside the US to avoid taxation. A great American company should not do that, especially when they can see that amount a small fraction of their worth.
Congratulations Apple for breaking a new record. I am waiting, but not holding my breath to see you bring that almost $300 billion back to America.
1
Apple bought NeXT in 1997 for $429 million and 1.5 million shares of Apple stock.
More than a few wags quipped the report was backwards: Apple paid Steve Jobs' NeXT to take it over for $429 million and 1.5 million shares.
1
My iMac lasted 6 years before recently becoming more or less obsolete. That's a lot longer than any Windows PC I've ever owned.
1
"My iMac lasted 6 years before recently becoming more or less obsolete."
What made it "more or less obsolete"? And what did you replace it with?
1
Apple is accused of keeping a cash hoard overseas, how nice that the Trump tax cuts included provisions to allow multinationals to repatriate at significant savings.
Apple is accused of mesmerizing its customers with bright shiny objects as if people are not shopping in a competitive market. The success of the company is not based on cool ads, they do make great products.
Critics point to the success of the iPhone and wail that its price is out of proportion to its use as a communicator- maybe if the name was changed to iComputer the text and talk crowd wouldn't presume its price is out of joint with its capabilities.
The company has made difficult decisions in a competitive marketplace and have grown their value to the benefit of their shareholders.
If only citizens could organize and choose to make a country and a society that is "insanely great".
2
Apple used to focus on education.
They used to empower creative professionals.
They used to build bicycles for the mind.
Now, they focus on making money.
Without smart creative people, who cares how much money they make.
1
The end game here is the assumption by companies like Apple and Amazon of key social services. Perhaps Apple can team up with Amazon and take over this country’s health care system. Bezos and Cook are, at this point, far more trustworthy than our current so-called government. Comprehensive healthcare and free tuition as a Prime benefit? I would sign up.
2
To put in perspective just how wildly out of control Big Government is, we could confiscate Apple’s entire market capitalization and barely cover 1/4 of one year of Big Government spending
1
For some reason New York City is Apple-crazy. I don't get it. People line up for this over-priced stuff.
Profit-wise Apple got to where it is now by over-charging its customers who are wacky enough to buy their over-priced products.
I am not going to spend $1,100 for a smart phone when I can buy a competitors phone for a fraction. There's nothing special about i-phones except that the screens seem to be more susceptible to breakage. Every time I see a smartphone with a cracked screen it's an Apple.
And ios, how is it better than Android which Google gives away to phone makers while Apple has a monopoly on ios.
It's pretty much the same with MacBooks. I can buy a MacBook for about $2,000 or I can buy a top notch Windows machine that does more for a fraction. In fact I can buy 2 or 3 Windows laptops for the same money and the Windows machines can do everything. Not so Apples. You rarely see a business running on Apples.
2
@MIKEinNYC My MacBook Pro computers have lasted much longer than any Windows based machine I have owned-and the OS upgrades don't cost me a fortune...
While true a Windows based computer is much less money, you get what you pay for.
@MIKEinNYC the people buying Apple products obviously disagree with you about being overcharged.
@MIKEinNYC
Well Mike, people buy Apple products because they work, because they are much more serious about consumer privacy than other companies and because they last. As for service, tell me where you go with your Android or Microsoft products. All i do is dial simple phone number and all my problems are dealt with successfully. If you like what you have, i suggest you keep using it. But, boy, you are realy missing out.
Maybe Apple can now afford to buy new phones - or at least batteries - for the thousand of us whose iPhone 6s no longer hold a charge and who can’t afford a new phone.
1
I believe in taxation, not charity, but isn't Apple notorious for contributing next to nothing to the wider community? (Meanwhile, his marketing genius, power, ruthlessness, and all the money in the world didn't save Steve Jobs from an early death.)
Apple make good phones and laptops. I have used macbooks and iphone for many years. But some products is very bad. Like the failed reflex coating on the Macbook I write on now.
The problem for America is that Apple dont create enough value for the American nation. It only creates cash for the shareholders. I wish I could tell my employer to payout salary in Irland so also I can get under 1% tax. If Apple dont pay tax, the compay wont exist in some years because USA dont have money for schools.
2
"... the failed reflex coating on the Macbook I write on now."
Apple had a "Quality Program" to fix that. Did you ever contact Apple about it?
1
The critics of capitalism and freedom need to remember that every penny in Apple’s bank accounts was given voluntarily. The only reason Apple is such a huge success is because lots of people decided of their own free will to trade their money for an Apple product. Apple proves that to succeed in a capitalist system you must give the people what they want. You must provide a great product or service that lots of people would rather have instead of their own money
5
What a great and wonderful story of Apple’s rise from the ashes to the first trillion dollar company! The rise in Apple’s stock has been enriching for all who owned it; including those who owned it for a short or long time over the past 20 years or also for those who owned it indirectly through mutual funds, pension funds or index funds. The rise in Apple’s stock has financed countless college educations, retirements, vacations, houses, and charitable giving. Free market capitalism has created wealth and a high standard of living once thought unattainable! The miracle of capitalism is undeniable!
1
Of all the factors contributing to Apple's record-breaking trillion dollar market value, missing in this article is its record-breaking hundreds of billion dollar buy-back of its own stock.
For that piece of the puzzle refer back to Nicas's Times article from May 1, 2018, "Apple Says It Will Buy Back $100 Billion in Stock."
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/01/technology/apple-stock-buyback-earnin...
3
@bc
Then every company can be successful by buying its stock?
1
@bc: This is incorrect. The buy backs affect stock price, but reduce the volume of shares. Mathematically, they should cancel each other out. Pragmatically, buy backs occur because management needs to accumulate shares for stock compensation programs or to reduce the effects of dilution. It does not affect the aggregate price because that is determined by taking the product of outstanding shares and share price.
@scsmits
If you measure success by market value, absolutely. According to Rana Foroohar, author of "Makers and Takers", stock buyback "...always artificially pushes the price of shares up because it reduces the number of shares on the market."
See this interview with her by Paul Jay:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thqbi20WCOo
$1,000,000,000,000 is a mere 67,900 mile high stack of single dollar bills. And at a continuous non-stop counting rate of one bill a second, would take about 32,000 years to count.
Chump change compared to what the trumps will get away with if and when they are done with our nation.
2
Are we meant to get excited about apple's huge profits. Excuse me if I don't. Apple owes approximately 50 billion in taxes that we know about. I wish all the millennials who are up to their eyeballs in college debt would realize that the company they support could help make college affordable if they paid their taxes.
That this company, who has complained about theft of intellectual property, willingly moved production to china to get cheap labor. They have reaped tremendous profits from consumers while making their shareholders rich. This is not the only company who does this.
It is no wonder we have a con man in the white house. There is a sucker born every minute.
2
@Joan Chamberlain Apple has paid 100% of taxes owed.
1
How is it Apple's responsibility to make college affordable?
Your statement is disingenuous at best. Perhaps Apple has paid it's taxes, minus it's offshore accounts in Jersey and all the tax loopholes they can find. To just pick college education out of the argument is to ignore the fact that Apple and other mega corporations are not paying their share. Legally, maybe, ethically, never? You ignore the fact that they are contributing the the culture of greed. You didn't mention the fact that Apple moved to China so they could hire cheap labor. You ignore the fact that the roads, schools, infrastructure of this country rely on taxes. The only people currently paying their full share is the middle class and it is breaking the back of this country. The tax code needs to be changed and loop holes eliminated so these mega-corporations pay their share. @Larry
Many years ago i was encouraged by my investment advisor to sell my Apple and Whole Foods stock and purchase an Enron like stock. A class action recovered some of my investment in said Enron-like stock. I wonder if I can go back to my self titled investment partner to recoup the gains I would have made....
"... my investment advisor ..."
No one needs an "investment advisor". All you need is some books from the library. Or buy mutual funds.
See, for example:
* "Stock investing for dummies" by Paul Mladjenovic.
* "Investing for dummies" by Eric Tyson.
* "Mutual funds for dummies" by Eric Tyson.
2
Thanks to all the Chinese slave labor. And extreme dodging of taxes.
1
If Apple’s good fortune makes this much news, it gives one pause to think of the several trillion dollars reported missing at the Pentagon by D Rumsfeld the day before 9/11.
2
It's amazing how good of a job Apple has done by manipulating people with deep pockets and many with not so deep pockets to way overspend on status symbols instead of performance, looks instead of functionality, etc.
Kudos to their advertising teams for a job well done for such a feat!
1
This equals roughly $12.5 million in market capitalization per each U.S. based employee for anyone who cares.
@Mikeweb, well now I see why this matters. Thanks.
The amazing thing about so many of the comments is how ignorant the critics of Apple are of business. So many readers have zero, absolutely zero understanding of business and stock markets. It's really a failure of our education system.
That said, I'd probably advise people that its not a good idea to buy Apple stock. Right now the company's market cap is ~5%+ of the American annual GDP. Yeah, I know, apples to oranges, but to double your money at this point, well, you do the math.
Congratulations to Apple and sour grapes to the clueless critics.
4
@TDurk bitterness and envy are ugly things. Congratulations to Apple and their shareholders!
2
So Apple is the 16th largest country in the world, measured by GDP. NYT should add to that graphic a comparison to entire regions and continents.
1
1 trillion company huh? Maybe they can finally do something that will really benefit mankind. Like cure disease, rejuvenate the land, protect endangered animal and plants.
If you close down Apple tomorrow, life will still be basically the same. You'd probably forget about them after a year or two.
1
They have benefitted a good chunk of mankind through their innovations. And a smaller chunk (their shareholders) more directly, which is how they should be measured. Apple is not a charity nor a government...
1
It’s always bothered me how Apple specifically picked for its logo an apple with a bite out of it like that of original sin, just to avoid getting sued by the Beatles. They could have just as easily chosen an apple with a worm coming out instead, which really would have be prescient.
@John Doe
Jobs thought of it but after much discussion it was decided that there were also bugs and the worms (many of them) were still not hatched and people taking a bite of the apple was more appropriate. Because the bugs and worms would come to life after the user had setup their computers. And users got hooked and paid more for bug free software and but software with bugs and the cycle made history.
"It’s always bothered me how Apple specifically picked for its logo an apple with a bite out of it ..."
Apple was founded in 1976, so you have been "bothered" for 42 years. That's a long time to be "bothered" by a corporate logo. Have you ever been "bothered" by any other corporate logos?
2
@Anil, just so long as that sets your mind at ease is all that matters. But the study of convoluted thinking is the best way to understand how it should have worked under better circumstances. It could have been remarkable.
I wish Steve Jobs was alive to see this.
5
So let me get this straight. My takeaway is that successful global companies make the shareholders of such companies very wealthy, at the expense of its low-paid workers in emerging countries. Build cheap "over there", charge high prices and the American capitalists can read about this wonderful, innovative, trillion dollar company in the NYT. On the other hand, Tim Cook could bring back, oh I don't know, maybe 350,000 jobs to the US, pay American workers decent wages ($25 an hour perhaps) with good benefits. Now, some of that wealth to shareholders is transferred to its workers who, likewise, are corporate stakeholders. So, instead of a $1 trillion dollar company, Apple could be a $500 billion company; but has made a remarkable contribution for the benefit of American workers. As an Apple shareholder myself, I'd be perfectly fine with that.
4
The are hundreds of thousands of Americans and American companies making money off the Apple genius products. If they made the new $1000 iPhone in the USA they would have to charge $3000/cellphone.
3
@Tears For USA
I doubt that. It just doesn't make sense the prices Apple charges.
I would like to know if this corp is making so much profits,
where are the social benefits except in your family's pocket (referring to Apple). You have a responsibility to society (even under a capitalist system) to help society since you are wealthy.
So let's see where you are hedging your bets. Possibly you are so greedy you probably invest in another business in order that you avoid paying US income taxes like the rest of us decent citizens.
2
@2B or not 2B Apple’s only responsibility is to make a profit for their shareholders. Their great products, jobs, and higher stock price are society’s benefits
4
@2B or not 2B
It would be nice if we could demand a social contract from all corporations. Put it in the constitution!
That way, we're all pulling in the same direction.
@D. What’s your net worth? How does your bank account or car or house benefit society?
Okay..first, I admit that I am semi-addicted to Apple products. You name it...MacBook, iPad, iPhone...I have it. The fact is they are indeed "user friendly," hold up very well, and have little or no problems. But then again, I am embarrassed that I have helped make this iconic entity so incredibly and almost sinfully rich. Call it Catholic guilt or whatever, with all the misery and poverty not only in this world but also in my own country, in the big scheme of things this does not seem morally right. But then again this is symptomatic of a capitalistic society in which too few hoard all its wealth and privilege while the many struggle to get by.
2
Kudos to Apple for riding the wave to such a height.
I wish I thought it was a good omen for corporate governance, for national growth or fair taxation of multinational companies.
What does it mean for the stock market, for the economy that there is a company whose valuation has topped a nice round number.
Once upon a time the success of companies was tied to their local economies
and local wealth was generated when they made products and created services.
That time has passed, may we find the will to create a new age of fair rules for capital and for labor.
11
I was a devoted Apple customer from the beginning (I even bought a Performa, around that time that they were on the ropes). Sadly, not a stockholder — just a passionate, engaged, loyal, devoted customer who believed in their vision and products. Now deeply embedded in the Mac ecosystem with all its planned obsolescence and disinterest in customer needs, I wish there was some return for my loyalty today.
12
@Elaine M
Apple stopped caring about customer loyalty a long time ago. They're in it to make a killing, which they're very good at.
@Elaine M I have been a loyal Apple customer since I first bought a IIGS many years ago. I like the ease of seamless integration between my iPhone and MacBook Air and the overall quality of the products. For example, my wife has been through 3 Windows based laptops, Toshiba, HP and Samsung while my 10 year old MacBook keeps on chugging along. I've only had to replace the battery. My biggest complaint with Apple is their obsessive controlling of the App Store and refusal to allow apps like WAZE on Apple CarPlay. In the end, you get what you pay for and as overpriced as Apple is, in the end it works out less expensive because the products last so long.
I am a very old person with very little understanding of IT. All I know is my phone and computer and tablet were much cheaper than Apple. I hate them for underpaying their workers and avoiding their taxes. Of course most other large companies do the same. Greed and snobbery are common human failings.
24
Apple pays better than other retail giants in its stores. Foxconn’s employees are not Apple employees and they are making everything in your home that uses electricity. Apple is one of the largest tax payers in the world.
My concern isn't how much Apple, or any other company is, but how much cash they stockpiling and remove from the economy. Imagine how much more Apple could make, and imagine how well the economy would be if they took much of their $300 M (?) cash and started new businesses or bought bonds in urban and rural areas that need to rebuild their economy. If you remove half the money in the system, the system isn't going to work so well.
12
@Thoughtful1 that's $300 B in cash! ;)
Apple became a $1 trillion business by NEVER having a sale, NEVER offering incentives to customers, and making their products obsolete within two or three years of purchase, forcing aficionados to pony up another $1,000 for a phone or $2,000 to $3,000 for a laptop. Can I work there?
19
@H. CLARK
Nonsense. Their products are not obsolete within two or three years of purchase as I still use an iPod Nano from 10+ years ago, nor is anyone forcing aficionados to buy anything. The Apple stands do so willingly of their own accord.
Apple products last longer, that is why they have higher resale values. Apple products get software updates for new features longer whereas last year’s Samsung phones are sold with old software and not upgraded. Headlines are easier to read though.
Wow, Apple is making America Great again!
An American corporate success story proving that the US leads the rest of the world in technology, innovation and build quality, these are the cornerstones of Apple's success and Corporate America. Donald Trump must be very proud.
Except that recent iPhone's are made in China using parts made in Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, France, Italy, Singapore and The Netherlands.
Make America great again by sourcing your components overseas and building your product where the labor and production costs are dirt cheap, then sell your product for an astronomical mark up price to infatuated consumers. It's easy!
29
I assure you labor and production costs in South Korea are *not* “dirt cheap” as you so carelessly assume. The labor force is both highly educated and highly motivated as a rule. Just for the record, SK leads the world in not only the quantity, but the quality of engineers of all kinds—especially in tech.
If the Americans want to rise once again to the apex of tech development and manufacturing, they would do well to become highly rather than merely sufficiently educated (if that!) in the sciences.
1
Apple is the perfect mirror of the U.S. economy, if not society as well...
1
I think I represent about 95% of cell phone users who use their phone for basic functions like making phone calls, emails, web browsing, taking pictures, playing games, and social media. My Oppo Android phone works great for all of that.
My wife was reluctant to give up on Apple because she believed the marketing hype now admits her Oppo Android which cost less than half of a new Iphone can do everything her Iphone did and even has a better battery life (charges last longer).
I wonder how long Apple can get away with selling an overpriced phone that is not much better than the competition.
23
@Sean you've hit the nail on the head with Apple's aspirational marketing to dupes. Apple owners really do hope and want to believe they have a better product, but don't actually care about that. For the largest segment they really hope and believe others will think them to be successful and smart, when to rational people they're displaying how vain, docile and careless they are.
@Joseph B A BMW doesn't get you from point A to point B any faster than a Honda. Its seats aren't any more comfortable. Its AC isn't any colder...you get the drift. It's a status symbol. It's prettier. It gives that endorphin fix that people with lots of money seem to need. So of course Apple understands this, that's why an iPhone X is so obscenely expensive. People driving BMW can't get that endorphin fix if they see that all the peasants are driving the same car they do. It's overpriced, not because it's any better functionally, but to ward off those poor peasants.
Can someone please tell me why, when my wife operates the TV remote to watch something on Apple TV, it brings up iTunes on MacBook Pro and plays music stored on my laptop completely unrelated to whatever show my wife is watching. The only solution seems to be completely shutting down my laptop until she is finished watching TV. Every time it happens I have to remind myself that Apple has superior technology to any other company.
2
I could speculate, but a real answer probably requires more information. My guess: the remote's signal is being picked up by your laptop.
You should contact Apple support. They're better equipped to solve the problem.
"... when my wife operates the TV remote to watch something on Apple TV, it brings up iTunes on MacBook Pro and plays music stored on my laptop ..."
That's hilarious. I'm guessing you have something misconfigured, but you would do better to ask Apple tech support than to ask in a Times comment.
"The only solution seems to be completely shutting down my laptop until she is finished watching TV."
Some guesses:
Do you have Siri enabled on the laptop?
Are you logged into any Apple service on the laptop?
The total market cap is a meaningless number to any individual not a stock holder. News reports like to rave but it's tabloid journalism.
Apple is only worth to any given person the price of replacing their product with an equivalent from somebody else, or about $250. A serious camera owner has ten times that invested, any person devoted to a car brand may have 30X invested.
As popular as it is, it's almost completely unnecessary that Apple exist, because others make a product just as good. This means that they are very vulnerable to winding up in the same position as when Mac computers tanked, just a more expensive same thing. They just fell out of the computer workstation market, nobody needs a Mac to edit photographs or work with music anymore.
2
The three greatest companies in history: the East India Company, Ford Motor Company, and Apple.
3
@Evan Egal Exxon, US Steel, IBM don’t make the list?
Maybe it's time they lowered their prices!
8
Maybe, if people stopped buying their products, they will.
The key word for Apple is not innovation, but longevity. I am typing this comment on my seven-year-old iMac, which I expect to use for another year or two before replacing it, and I still listen to music on my iPod with click wheel, which was discontinued four years ago.
Yes, I know that for tech journalists and pundits, what-have-you-done-for-me-lately is all that matters, but for me, what matters is that it works long enough to justify what I paid for it. I don't buy technology products to show them off.
12
@Mark Lebow - Mac is famous for not having longevity, they have changed the OS and connectors and made old hardware products useless faster than any other hardware brand. Sure you can use your Safari browser but it probably doesn't display Flash content and your iTunes software is terrible stuff etc. You paid for pretty whether you want to admit it or not.
2
In the mid-1990s I seriously thought about buying Apple stock. Instead i bought $10,000 of Microsoft, which has done well. But I don't even want to think what $10,000 of Apple would be worth today. One of several that got away.
2
Now that they seem to have some spare money, how about spending on engineering to produce something nice? Not the incremental upgrades, but some real new products.
And no, the new Iphone X does not count in the new products list
2
"... but some real new products."
That's uselessly vague. Anyway, Apple released the NEW iMac Pro line in Dec. 2017.
Let's be perfectly clear, Apple is not a "technological innovator" by any stretch of the imagination, they are a "marketing innovator". And that's where the lions share of their success and profits lie.
As far as I know, Apple, like Steve Jobs, never "invented" anything. Every product Apple has ever introduced, existed previously, in another form, from a different manufacturer. Apple didn't "invent" personal computers (Altair), or the mouse (Xerox), or portable music devices (Sony), or portable phones (Motorola), or PDA's (Palm), or operating systems (Microsoft), or anything else.
What Apple does, and they do it very well, is aggregate other people's inventions and stylishly repackage them using Braun's great industrial designer Dieter Rams' aesthetic. Look up Dieter Rams and his designs and you'll see what I mean.
Yes, Apple makes nice looking products, but, their bottom line is much more a product of their successful cultivation of a cult like consumer mindset, than one of any real existential value. In many ways, Apple is to "innovation", what Donald Trump is to "politics". Which is the successful marketing of what is, essentially, a smoke-screen.
Apple may be worth a trillion dollars in market value, but, their actual real value to our society is a tiny fraction of that. Like Donald Trump, Apple proves that just because you have a lot of money, that doesn't mean you're worthy of praise, or that you have any real intrinsic value beyond the current market price.
17
@Chicago Guy
Oh, come on! Like anybody remembers (or is even aware of) Altair!
You are confusing innovation with origination. You don't have to create something out of whole cloth to be innovative. Apple's take on the smartphone, tablet and computer contains multiple innovations within the form itself (multi-touch on the iPhone, and the recent Pro-motion on iPad Pros) that make its products uniquely useful and desirable.
It's not who did it first, it's who did it better!
14
@Prospervic
Read the comment. I never said Apple wasn't an "innovator", I specifically said they were. What I did say is that they're not "inventors", which they aren't.
And, I'm sorry, but it absolutely matters who did it first, because without the invention, Apple would have nothing to "innovate". In fact, without other people's inventions, Apple wouldn't even exist.
A long time ago when I was bringing computers into my small law office, I had two choices: an Apple or an IBM. The Apple was beautiful and had all the functionality I needed. I didn't buy it because it was twice as expensive as the IBM and it was not as good at word processing. It was for graphic work not WordPerfect which was the go-to word processing program in use. I have no regrets; I remember struggling with C\PM and finally mastering it. The legal software that came out revolutionized law practice with everything from forms generators to electronic bank accounts. It was an exciting time.
I wonder if this will be the peak, or if Apple will continue to grow. Very interesting to see this in the news, when recently many audio/music producers including myself are feeling shut out of Apple's future picture and moving to non-Macs for mixing projects, for better specs, upgradeability, needed ports, budget, and desktop options. You just don't want to mix near your hard drive for the fan sound, so desktops with multiple ports are necessary. Apple has long neglected the Mac Pro and the Mac Mini, catering more towards the needs of the iPad crowd. Back in the day, Macs were just the most reliable for recording, and every musician/composer had one. Not the case anymore, I'd say it's about 50/50 now. PC's are getting much better, and we're at the point now with Apple's terrible desktop options that an exodus is slowly happening.
Here's to hoping the future of Apple will not continue squeeze music producers out. I do love their computers, but just can no longer afford what i need from them. I have been a Mac user since 2001, but sad to say not sure what my next workstation computer will be...
Anyways congrats on your Trillion, Apple. Hope it's all worth it to you.
3
This is not particularly newsworthy, except to Apple shareholders. Apple benefits from an enormous tax reduction from Trump, raids the Congo for precious metals for their phones and other products while their hired pirates leave dead Congolese in their wake, and outsources fabrication to Asia.
American consumers pay for these high-priced products, but the accolades are undeserved for a company that avoids taxes, outsources manufacturing and plunders the Congo.
Cheering for the already rich getting richer? No. I'd cheer if they added American employees and production facilities in the States, and bought, at market value, precious metals from the Congo
I believe they can afford to give back now.
5
"... raids the Congo for precious metals ..."
You need to keep up with the facts. Apple reports on its supply chain in SEC filings. Apple's "Conflict Minerals Disclosure and Report" for 2017 is online.
Do a web search for "Apple-Conflict-Minerals-Report.pdf site:apple.com".
@EWV--thanks...just read it. Sounds good, but is superficial. Their relying on other countries to make sure smelters sign a third-party agreement and abide by it. But what does this mean? Apple says they're doing these audits through foreign governments. These same governments are not in accord about human rights, and would lose income if human rights were respected. The paper is quite slick, but it would be better to know how many salaries were raised and how many lives were saved by Apple. Africa's not on their list at the end... strange. I don't think they have much control over conflict minerals...shuffled papers received from across the globe does not ensure human rights.
Interesting graphics concerning the size of Apple vs a collage of other companies. What is NOT mentioned is the number of people Apple employs vs those employed by the collage of companies needed to equal the market value of Apple.
Apple employs about 80,000 workers in the USA. From the sounds of this article you would think they employ millions.
Pleeease don't reply with: "Well they indirectly employ millions"
Maybe true; but the summation of the indirect employment by the other companies may well be the same... The researchers for this article could have consider similar graphics for that matter also. Maybe some time in the future?
5
Please name one other company that has not used existing loopholes and current tax laws to maximize their profits. Apple is a fantastic and innovative company that makes popular products that work and vastly increase productivity. As a long time Apple shareholder who believes in fair play, it’s the US tax policy that needs the condemnation, not Apple.
4
I'm a student developer and have recently moved from a Windows platform to macOS and so glad I did. Many reasons - in-part due to the security of the operating system (Unix-based) but primarily, because it just works - fast and flawlessly; unlike my experience with Windows-based machines. It would be a dark day if this technically robust product ceased to exist. If that were to occur I'd imagine there'd be a rapid uptake in the Linux desktop environment.
2
So Apple is worth a Trillion dollars, so what? I'm a long time Apple user that's been waiting for a new desktop computer for ,what, SIX YEARS.
How about they take a few nickels and give their loyal customers something else than outdated, overpriced pieces of eye candy.
I can't use an iPhone nor an iWatch not iTunes or some shiny new donut of a Headquarters.
Thank God for Ubuntu.
4
"I'm a long time Apple user that's been waiting for a new desktop computer for ,what, SIX YEARS."
You must not have been paying attention, because Apple released the NEW iMac Pro line in Dec. 2017.
No mention of tax avoidance and the life threatening working conditions at Foxcomm that generated worker suicides as protest of course. Foxcomm is now leading in robot production and shifting to cheaper labor markets with robot production from the floor up. It also is planning Foreign Overseas Investment in the US, but do not expect many jobs generated by it.
Apple profits will continue to sore; time for Congress to view its performance critically and bring some of that overdue revenue home.
1
Where’s Teddy Roosevelt when you need him?
4
"Apple became the first publicly traded American company to be worth more than $1 trillion"
With 400 or so .1 percenters vying for the same distinction
Apple making money is nothing to get angry about. It's what businesses do. It's not Tim Cook's job to look after the American economy and function of the US government. That's the job of Donald Trump and Congress. If you're angry about Apple not paying enough taxes, then get angry at the people actually responsible. That's Trump, the Republican-controlled Congress, and - most importantly - all the people who elected them. They are ones giving the store away.
19
BTW: Why are many if not all SV corporations trying to nix the building of low cost housing down thar in la la land????????
1
@Merrily We Go Along
Why would any rational builder want to build low-income housing on the most expensive real estate on the planet ? That’s just not a good business decision.
1
The American stock markets are strongly rallying clearly because investors are optimistic re Trump's abysmal poll numbers
and prospects that the great blue wave will sweep Trump off the stage.The idea that Trump will be soon gone is the great hope of investors and companies alike.
1
This Clearly solidfy what kind of visionary Steve Jobs is. I am a die hard Bill Gates Microsoft person . But Apple's Iphone success and concept creation is absoultely the landmark achievement of 21st century and may stay in that way until who achieve first the True AI.
But we also acknowledge teh main problem here, Aplle is standing on one single product , Iphone and IOS. but mainly Iphone. how long thsi trend is going to go upward. when thsi technology become mainstay what will happen to Apple?
But thsi doesn't chnage one importnat Truth, Steve Jobs great effort to create Iphone and concept behind it. he will be remembered long long time .
1
Landmark achievement of the 21st century? By what and whose metric?
This comment is exactly why Apple fanboys are dismissed out of hand, if not Apple itself...
1
When Apple hits the 2 trillion mark you’ll still be smugly dismissing it.
Yes Apple had serious financial problems when Steve Jobs returned. And scores of IBM-centric media people were ready to bury them. But with millions of Americans ready to buy the last Macintosh produced, they were never really in danger of going out of business.
3
So true - as a user I knew that and that is why I chose to invest in them with what little I had. 22 years later I can say that that simple decision changed my life.
One day Apple will be worth as much as Nokia - and Facebook will be worth as much as MySpace. But the smart thing is to know when.
10
"Can Apple continue to innovate?" Short answer, no. The company's origin, decline, and turn around are a remarkable novel. The tale of its growth to global giant is just one simple chapter: the iPhone. There is no other digital product niche out there on the mid-term horizon like that filled by the iPhone. The iWatch has bombed, not because it isn't neat, but because people already have their phones. One can imagine digital appliances and vehicles, but, again, people don't need information from their kitchen or automobiles; they already have their phones in both. Expect Apple to continue to grow, but a repeat of its phenomenal mass market growth since the introduction of the iPhone is unlikely.
4
Wow, I just watched the "How Many Companies..." graphic and after about 6 random combinations it started to feel so much like voyeurism that I had to click out of there. This doesn't feel like a good, healthy thing to be doing.
Steve Jobs was once asked if Apple or Microsoft was the more successful company. Job's answer was, "If your goal was to create the richest man, then Microsoft was a complete success. But if your goal was to create the best company, then Apple is the more successful."
I think Jobs pretty well nailed it. However, I also feel that Tim Cook - and not Steve Jobs - had to be at the helm in order for Apple to achieve its current mark.
6
Lets unionize Apple - that will bring its market value more in line with other great companies like GM, likely requiring a government financed bankruptcy.
Or how about regulating it?
Common progressives, you are not going to let a shining example of capitalism alone to prosper, are you?
1
I've been a Mac computer user since the early 1990s. To all the knee-jerk Apple apologists on this comment thread (and elsewhere), I have two words for you:
Stockholm Syndrome.
1
Dropping $100 bills into a fire at the rate of 1 per second, it would take 317 years to burn up one trillion dollars.
6
@Lee
Haha! Or we could just burn the Federal Reserve all at once. Total currency in circulation is 1.67 trillion, out of which 1.62 trillion is at the Fed Reserve.
I guess there's not that much cash in circulation. No way Apple is worth all the money that they say.
So how did Apple get to be worth a Trillion? What do they do that's better than their competitors?
Not cost control, marketing, design, Jobs, quality control, the constant upgrades, closed source software linked to hardware, manufacturing, product positioning, execution, ease of use, patents, luck, or some magic strategy.
Other companies do all that - that's what's needed just to play.
All they did better is focus on the One primary goal of any company - find customers and keep them.
4
A trillion? Then I think Apple can afford to pay back the billions of dollars they’ve essentially stolen from customers by purposefully creating products that cease to function the moment their newest, fastest, most amazing and — surprise, surprise — most expensive next gen product comes out.
8
@Thom Bell, Your comment is completely false. No Apple product ceases to function when a new product comes out. Some older products cannot run the latest operating systems, but Apple supports its products much longer and more reliably than any other manufacturer. That's one reasons people buy the products.
You can make anti-Apple comments without making things up.
5
"Then I think Apple can afford to pay back the billions of dollars ..."
Market value has nothing to do with what "Apple can afford".
"... products that cease to function the moment their newest ... product comes out."
What "products" are you talking about? Give specific examples based on your personal experience.
And if you have a problem with an Apple product you should contact customer support.
1
Macs, maybe. ipod: once a new ios is released you no longer can update the apps you bought because the version compatible with your old but still working ipod has been removed from the Apple store. You're told by Apple apologists to drop hundreds on a new device to update or buy a $2 app. And, oh yeah, send the still working ipod into landfill.
1
For all the Apple haters because "Apple doesn't build in the U.S." here is some info from a January press release:
"Apple is already responsible for creating and supporting over 2 million jobs across the United States and expects to generate even more jobs as a result of the initiatives being announced today.
Combining new investments and Apple’s current pace of spending with domestic suppliers and manufacturers — an estimated $55 billion for 2018 — Apple’s direct contribution to the US economy will be more than $350 billion over the next five years, not including Apple’s ongoing tax payments, the tax revenues generated from employees’ wages and the sale of Apple products."
2
@Adam Smith
Dont forget that it helps the auto industry (who sale cars to replace those in accidents while users on phones), porn industry, and keeps children on the phones freeing up parents and a lot more.
@Adam Smith Thats great, how much tax does Apple pay in the USA and what percent of their profit does that represent? How many direct employees do they employ in the USA>
1
In 1998, my employer offer me a chance to buy any stock I wanted at no cost. Apple was still in the tank but looked like Jobs might return. I bought 500 shares of Novell.
As a semi-techie, I don't believe Apple has built a decent computer in 5-8 years which is why I keep my old MacBook Pro running. It's a toss up who/which dies first --me or the MacBook. Hope it's me.
The other stuff Apple sells? Vastly over-priced toys.
@Fred
"I don't believe Apple has built a decent computer in 5-8 years"
Check out an early 2015 MacAir 11" on craigslist for $450.
You bought 500 shares of Novell instead of Apple over 20 years ago. I’m supposed to listen to you?
1
To the Apple haters posting here:
I'm a 69 year old designer and have been a dedicated Apple Mac user since 1986. At that time, the Mac and Adobe were guiding the graphic design field into the future. I've never turned my back on Apple. Before the appearance of the iPod/iTunes/iPhone/iPad (which are in fact the items that have gotten Apple to the $1T mark), the folks in the Mac trenches, like me, were the ones who significantly kept the company going. Having used many iterations of the Mac (as well as iPod, iPhone, but just one original iPad) I know from years of experience that the products are more elegantly designed and function more simply and assuredly than any competitor's. You get what you pay for. So, I remain loyal and will continue to do so (just wish I'd bought stock when they were 90 days from tanking!).
8
Apple, a tech company that has set the computing and communications industry ablaze this century with innovative products and marketing techniques, has become the first publicly traded company to be worth $1 trillion with a great deal of help from the U.S. government. Uncle Sam provided Apple with a lax regulatory environment which allowed Apple to cut costs and make a prodigious amount of money. Our government allowed Apple to move jobs to foreign countries to cut manufacturing and labor costs, thereby cheating its American workers of better-paying manufacturing jobs. Our government also allowed it to avoid billions of dollars in U.S. taxes by keeping over $200 billion in offshore profits overseas in countries with more favorable tax rates. The question now that Apple has justifiably been crowned the titan of modern “shareholder capitalism,” a derogatory term coined by liberal economist George R. Tyler to denote modern corporations’ focus on shareholder profits rather than worker wages, is this: can Apple adjust its corporate behavior to ensure the fiscal prosperity of its workers?
7
@Howard Gregory
Would Americans be able to afford Apple products if they were made by Americans at a large minimum wage? Also, Apple is not the only electronics company that manufactures in China. Ever hear of Walmart?
4
@scsmits
I’m glad you mentioned Walmart, another great practitioner of shareholder capitalism that royally shafted its own poorly-paid workers after receiving a huge tax cut from President Trump and the Republicans, giving its workers a whopping $1 per hour pay increase and a bonus ranging from $200 to $1,000 based on time with the company. The Waltons and the minority shareholders of Walmart stock got most of the tax savings loot. Walmart tried to conquer Germany but workers actually have rights in that country, so Walmart fled it. FYI, if Corporate America applied a greater portion of profits to increasing worker wages, the resulting increase in productivity could stabilize prices.
I used to buy Apple products and it's blatantly clear how they got this wealthy. Their products break within two years and parts are repairs are either now available, or prohibitively expensive. It took me a few years and a few thousand dollars to learn this fact and bail on all Apple products.
After they get your cash for something that won't last, they refuse to pay taxes by using offshore tax shelters. Apple sold $8 billion worth of product in Australia last year and paid $183 million in company and other taxes. $8 billion in sales and only $255 million in profit.
They are the face of the 21st century robber barons.
4
@Ridgy
That's just your experience. I've not had Apple products to break on me at all, and they support the new operating system long after they would be expected to do so. And has Apple broke any laws in its tax-paying? Should they pay more than they are legally obligated to pay? Do you?
4
@Anil
Jobs did not steal the Mac from Xerox, Xerox gave Apple access to the technology for free (read Isaacson's bio to find the details). The Mac OS had to be developed from the technology of the Xerox computer. By the way, Xerox marketed a GUI machine before the Mac was even developed, but it was so poorly engineered and marketed, that it did not sell.
@Ridgy
In America's corporate world stealing pays. Zuck stole facebook. Jobs stole his Mac and what mad Mac successful from Xerox. I cant name another because of an NDA I have signed but it happens all the time. Michael Milken is another story.
To do this successfully, you need to steal big, hire and pay lawyers and then settle with the robbed and cheated and the government and keep 50% of the loot.
I remember the days of being an Apple stalwart -- gently mocked by PC users for "needing" a computer with a mouse -- not to mention a screen that resembled the page you would print out. While I had friends who were computer majors who ended up having to buy a new PC every time they needed to install a new sound card, the great thing about the Apple computer was that it essentially "vanished" and allowed you do your work.
I've never had the problems with the OS upgrades that others are complaining about (going to OSX and the Unix base was mildly painful, but the payoff in security seemed more than worth it--again my friends with windows suffer far worse, so it feels unseemly to complain).
Congratulations, Apple.
2
@ltglahn Upgrade ...one of the most feared words in the English language ... it makes one want to throw the Apple out with the Windows.
1
Steve Jobs brought Unix from his NeXT Computer to the Mac, then adapted it for the iThis and iThat. Unix (plus Jobs' imagination) was the solid foundation on which Apple was rebuilt.
@Reuel
In another two years, Microsoft will have a bigger market cap than Apple.
@Anil
Ok, non sequitur but I would be happy if your prediction proves true unless it's because Apple has crashed! (Disclosure: I bought MS stock several years ago). MS has done amazing 'heavy lifting' with cloud Exchange and Office and impressive work merging desktop and tablet Windows 10. (They even support Linux.) IMHO, their OS remains relatively 'inelegant' and their consumer products are not as useful.
Everyone here today is extolling the beauty and virtue of Apple products, maybe one of them can tell me why this webpage was reloaded because a problem occurred just before I get a chance to finish my thought, while typing on my iPad so many times? It truly is a beautiful experience and a real test of patience.
1
The NYTimes app has a bug, likely due to ad reloads, hijacks my screen all the time too and I'm on Android.
3
After all that you need to remember that even Apple would be tiny compared to the Dutch East India Company at it's height adjusted to today's dollars.
1
@Rhys
The Dutch East India Company was small. You are probably thinking of the Britain's East India Company. It had a lot of military might. The assets were mostly owned by Indian Kings and rented from other private companies. It got dissolved after a battle in 1957 that resulted in slaughter of both sides. And the start of the fight for Independent India.
1
Job's insight was that something you carry on your person can see has not only to function well but is also functions as status symbol.
For retrograde men it's still watches - Putin is one Clinton is another (for Trump is not)
For most though , its her/his smartphone.
Apple is the new Rolex. Useful , yes, good yes, but not better than the competition.
So why does it sell ? Look up Veblen goods
@Talesofgenji
"So why does it sell ?"
Apples sell and sell because they're designed to be addictive. They light up your dopamine channels.
1
Tim Cook has a lot to thank Gates and Microsoft for the millions in finance and the license to use Microsoft programs to bring Apple back to life. Microsoft should have negotiated the shares it got in return and never sold them, it would have probably been the largest shareholder of Apple.
2
@Anil
Gates loaned Apple $150 million when Jobs returned. That meant that Microsoft was able to claim all of those Apple users as Microsoft customers. Gates did himself a favor.
1
Re: How did it get here?
Good design and having its phones made in China - at Chinese wages
Jobs was the pioneer of outsourcing - and completely unapologetic about it.
Even when Chinese workers jumped to their death - eventually forcing Hon Hai to install safety nets.
If you wonder how Trump could get elected study how Apple (whose profit margins would well allow it to produce in the US) moved jobs to low wage countries
1
Anil: "It took me over 60 minutes to replace the Apple's screen ..."
Why didn't you just send the iPhone to an authorized Apple service center?
Anil: "The iPhone is not the greatest of design."
iPhones are not designed to be serviced by amateurs and hobbyists, so your complaint is specious.
@Anil I love my Land Line! $5 a month, wowee!!
So much ignorance here by the always vocal Apple haters. Apple was the last major US computer maker to go overseas. And when Jobs was running NeXT, he built a new factory in Elk Grove, CA to produce all the units. His early Mac and iBook products were still assembled here, but it was over, in order to compete and survive they had to do as all the others and move operations overseas. It was a rather grudging if practical decision, then Tim Cook just made it into the most efficient chain of them all.
Apple has abandoned the customers who kept it alive: graphic designers. They sell outdated hardware packaged in pretty wrapping while crippling the level of functionally needed for design work: power throttled because of excess heat, removal of DVD drives and ports for peripherals, unwanted touchbar in lieu of function keys. Yet, ridiculous prices for Macs.
I have been a Mac user for 30 years. Apple is a phone and fashion company now. My next computer won't be a Mac at the price point they set.
6
@Anne Hajduk That's unfortunate, I always thought Macs were great for creative types like graphic designers like you. But why remove all the peripherals, doesn't make sense. Not everyone has the time or bandwidth to upload their work online, or carry adaptors. I was considering getting a Mac to edit videos, alas, that has to wait. I am in no mood for paying money for a Mac, I'm not a fashionista, nor have daddy's money.
1
@Anne Hajduk DITTO!!!
2
"... graphic designers. They sell outdated hardware ..."
How is the Mac Pro "outdated"?
"... power throttled because of excess heat ..."
What Mac is "power throttled"?
"... removal of DVD drives and ports for peripherals ..."
Macs have a variety of ports*, so what exactly are you complaining about? And you can get *external* DVD drives.
* See the Mac Pro tech specs at apple.com.
3
Apple caught the Mobile Wave at the right time with the right product. The iPhones are cash cows, followed closely by the Apple Ecosystem.
@Bobb
Are you kidding? Apple created the mobile wave.
Negative. Lots of people had cellphones before the iPhone and lots of businesses used smartphones (remember something called a Blackberry?). Apple did help drive the widespread adoption of smartphones, however, they were not alone in that.
I see some commenters mentioning the East India Tea Company. There are many parallels—the opening of new, unregulated, global markets for one. East India Tea were the ultimate in predatory capitalism though, weren't they? We're still feeling their damage. Addicted the continent of China to opium, then turned those ships around and sold people. apple also has an addictive product. Marshall McLuhan said these electronics are an extension of the central nervous system. How long will we feel the damage of this predation.
Trillionarism is grotesquely immoral. And it is hideously powerful. Multinationals are more powerful than governments now. Your graphics ask how many companies do I need to equal this one?
My answer to that would be none.
I don't need any more of them at all.
2
A remarkable achievement in selling products that are 50% Asian electronics, 10% British design, and 40% American hype!
9
@AynRant
Only 10% British design? Your history is terrible: where do you think the OS comes from for the iPad and the iPhone. And those products aren't designed in Britain; they're designed in Cupertino.
1
@scsmits I think AynRant was referring to the fact that Jony Ive is of British stock.
Apple is worth $1 trillion? Dang, that's a lot of apples.
6
Who cares? Why fawn all over Apple?
How about paying some taxes? That’d be nice.
4
That's $12.5 million of market cap per U.S. employee for anyone who cares.
And yet the latest iOS update caused my fiance's iPhone to play garbled audio from podcasts or any audio source.
Truly a triumph of form over function (or quality for that matter...)
1
I think I'll go buy a Samsung just because.
3
@Mford
You A processors are from Samsung. actually you are buying a samsung.
I guess if you don't pay taxes for years on end because you have your money in fraudulent accounts overseas, then sure it is possible be be worth a lot of money, and if you continue to split the shares and then each are artificially boosted and you then you buy all that back because you got a tax break (sic--you need to PAY TAX first to get a break, right?) and you sell stuff that is worth 200$ for 1000$, sure you are going to be worth money. But in the end , it is all crap, its ruining society, it is creating a bed for crime throughout the world and then when that happens YOU REFUSE to aid the police--I'm waiting for the crash.
7
Amazing Apple and astounding Steve Jobs. American innovation ia alive and well.
2
I never have, and will never do, use Apple products.
I'm a Linux system administrator. I know my stuff.
I find it pitiful to have to dumb down the operating of a relatively simple device like a PC or smartphone to the point where the PC/phone is smarter than the user...
1
@Martin, they took freeware and made it proprietary. Of course they paid a load of money to do that. They make everything proprietary. The real hero here is Linus Torvalds, not Steve or his replacement. He took freeware and with the help of a load of Internet dev volunteers, created the best free OS on Earth. I don’t care what flavor you use ( I’m on Mint 19), it can run on 10 year old hardware with ease. I have 5 systems spanning 12 years in age, and every one of them runs Debian, Ubuntu, Mint, CentOS perfectly. Try running the latest OS X on old hardware. systemd, LXD, libreoffice, CloneZilla, FileZilla, the list goes on and on. I can’t wait till ZFS is the root file system, and can be mirrored at installation. The only Apple device I use is an iPad with the termius app.
1
You forgot to mention Microsoft's $150 million investment in August 1997. Kept Apple alive and gave MSFT a much-needed competitor.
2
I bought 200 shares of Apple in 1992 and sold in 1993. Lost $5,000. Timing is everything. If I just held, oh well it's only money.
3
Imagine if Steve Jobs had never sold any of his Apple shares!
Imagine the hundreds of billions in tax subsidies most of us are paying to prop up that valuation!
4
David Brooks is a big fan of localism. Well, here's what localism really looks like: a multinational corporation.
In San Francisco there's legislation afoot to keep large corporations from operating their own foot courts. But nearly everywhere now, people live, work, socialize, organize and romaticize at work. Work is their locality.
So, yeah. Some locality corporations grow to become urbanized corporations, cities unto themselves, then into national corporations with a GDP larger than every nation on the planet excepting the top 18 or so.
Then look at the taxes they pay. Wah wah!
3
And how much taxes do they pay? How much capital gains taxes do its biggest shareholders pay? Thanks to Republicans, not enough.
14
An easy answer here. computers run on memory. an Apple II+ had 64K of memory, but half of these are positive and half negative. In 1997 computers had about 1billionK of memory. assuming half were negative, all Jobs had to do was flip from the negative to the positive ones, and Voila, he in the black again, and the rest is history.
Weird to see all the corporate tax-related comments here. This is the same commentarati that thinks Trump’s tariffs are bad.
If they had any intellectual honesty, they should be 100% for all of the recently imposed tariffs as well. In fact, they should be arguing that Trump’s 10% rate is too low.
3
Apple won their customers by making excellent products. Their products are better looking, better working, and easier to use than competing products. And from time to time, looking in the manual, there would be a pleasant surprise - Ohh, can it do that too!
15
@Robert Gustafson
what horse manure that is. My Lenovo (XP sp 3) works just as well as my friend's rotten apple who has had the hard disc crash, (2xs) and the software go bonkers among other things--and she bought "the best".
You must be a trump supporter where reality doesn't enter in to the known world.
2
I am concerned Trumps tariffs will raise the cost of Mac Books to 3or 4,000 . I will not pay that much for a computer. I hope Apple will still have affordable products no matter how long Trumps trade war goes.
Where is this value?
2
I'll stick with my Osborne!
3
@Ace I stick with Z80 CP/M system - that I built myself!
If Apple has become worth a trillion on the backs of cheap foreign labor - not unlike Nike did making it's shoes with unsuspecting south East Asians who did not know that the toluene they were inhaling would render them brain damaged - then perhaps it's just desserts that Apple takes a hit from Sir Donald The Windmill Tilter's "trade war" with those sneaky-mean Chinese - who stole all his nice shiny (aluminum and steel) marbles.
(This, for those of us who were wondering who DID steal all our current president's marbles).
5
Make your stuff in America! Give Americans jobs! Your gadgets are expensive to begin with! The incredible profit the company makes, is because the whole pipeline is a Chinese operation!!!
5
@Counter Measures
Mr. Cook has reiterated on several occasions that building the iPhone in America would not have a serious effect on profits. The issue, he claims, is the availability of trained/trainable people.
5
@Michael Spencer
I concur. I have the same problem. Trying to hire, but the available talent pool is dry.
@Michael Spencer
'trainable people'???
So you're claiming that he's calling the average American untrainable?
Sounds to me a lot like calling someone stupid...
Really? If they’re worth that much, why are so many iOS upgrades still beyond worthless? How come my password Keychain never works right? Why do so many PowerPoint talks fail to convert from Mac to PC at scientific meetings? Don’t even get me started on the ravages of autocorrected spelling. And would it really kill the magic to put a USB port on the iPad?
10
BioProf,
Your rant makes me seriously question why you continue to use Apple products at all?
@BioProf Well if we're kvetching, I'm reading this article while taking a break from trying to get Excel to stop crashing before I throw my MacBook through the window.
Apple will benefit China factories with cheap labor and Chinese will use profits to build islands, its military, its surveillance networks, and international spy network
4
'How did it get here?'
By building superior products that customer want to buy...
7
@Karmadave, Apple didn't get there by building superior products that customers want to buy.
It got there by clever marketing and by manipulating the global consumer culture where owing iPhone (and to a lesser extent an iPad) became hallmarks of self-esteem and self-worth.
People who didn't own the latest Apple gadgets were uncool nobodies, until the next version (with minor tinkering) and next.
9
And, assuming this is true, who's fault is that?
In 2002, Apple shares were about $7 a share. A $1,000 investment back then would have let you retire modestly by now. Oh, I wish i could go back in time.
3
I bought Apple stock for $18. I remember the day. I had just seen the iPod Mini at Mac World. I knew it would be an enormous hit. I went back to work and purchased the stock with everything I had at the time ($10k) and held on to it over the years. It has increased in value 80x over 16 years, bought a house with some and is about to buy another. I still own the original 5GB iPod with the HD and It still works. Thank you Apple.
11
In 1997, I had just purchased a new Apple computer and Adobe software, allowing me to leave my full time graphic design job and set out as an independent designer. I loved the products and my new freedom, and we wanted to support this innovative company. So my husband and I bought our first Apple stock ... at $14 a share. Apple was failing, my colleagues scoffed, and they laughed that we had been so dumb to buy equipment AND stock. We took a chance and now, two decades later, I'm still using Apple products to make art, photos, design, and to edit films. We still own that Apple stock and more ... today worth $207.40 a share!
@onionbreath - don't forget those splits. You probably caught the 2:1 which put the price down to $7 (as I recall, they had $6 in cash - a no brainer bet). Also subsequent splits - was it 7:1 when the price was up around $700?
Congratulations on choosing some good products too.
1
Bravo, I suppose.
It's just a little hard to truly applaud. Tax and manufacturing issues aside, Apple's iPhone strongly helped feed the social media culture that has taken over our society. Making a portable, handheld computer transformed how Facebook, Twitter, et al are used and digested.
5
What would be the hit new products coming from Apple? Seems to me that the Home Automation market would be a natural next phase.
1
Speaking from a purely Monetary perspective of "Relentless pursuit of Profits", APPL is Un-Enron, TIAA, and other retirement funds can cash in on APPL stock. And many Funds with Annuities can cash in on that. From an Ethical, Environmental and Moral perspective it is not very high. Technology is a mixed bag. APPL is a Marketing Genius. 60$ phone selling for 1000$. And they got all the ex-Military people [DIA,CIA etc] working in their Offices. I just dont watch Rainbows, I also watch all the Filthy and gory Videos posted on LiveLeak. At least the eyes are wide open.
1
Worth is only a Wall Street number. Just recently there were startups less than 2 years old that had more worth than Ford or GM. It is a number of what the short term investors of Wall Street think. Yes Apple makes some nice products. Yes they overprice (not that it matters). Yes they seem to have a cult following that thinks anything other than an Apple product is junk. Apple seems to have 9 lives. After Jobs was forced out he vowed to kill apple with his new company, until they invited him back in years later.
Consider what the collective value would be to billions of creatures in search of a reason for being and maybe a trillion dollars sounds right. When I see everyone, eyes and thumbs clinging to their gadgets like it was all there was to live for, Apple’s assumed value makes perfect sense.
1
And the Fed is unable to raise the interest rate to 4% -- so the Wall Street hustle can continue.. Laissez-faire capitalism. I cannot stand Apple Word, Apple Safari and have no need for an i-phone or pad. I guess I should count myself lucky. BTW why are all the machines "made in China"?
PS... what happens when the power grid gets hacked??? (Forget about hacked political campaigns.)
4
Gather a group of one million people, give them each a million dollars and you'd have the $1 trillion that Apple is now worth.
Been using Mac’s since my father brought home a 128 nearly 40 years ago.
Currently own an iMac, iPhone X, iPad mini 4, iPad, and Apple TV.
Probably won’t buy Apple anymore. I took my 1 month old iMac to be fixed a few months for something relatively minor (adding RAM) and ended up having to pretty much buy an entirely new computer.
Apple, has always been a closed system. I’ve known that from the start. But the level that they go to prevent legitimate users out of their systems is insane.
I like the environment, but I like Windows too, and have built enought gaming computers tthat I can tweak to my hearts content.
1
Since they're so wealthy, now maybe they can reopen the manufacturing plants in the US that they closed down and rehire all the people that they laid off when they moved all of their manufacturing to China? Because that's a significant reason why they made that trillion dollars, moving off to another country where they don't have to worry about labor and safety laws or the EPA.
7
Apple's problem back then was that sold overpriced computers. Generally costing over $2,000 most couldn't afford to buy them, so the generic desktop powered by the lame windows 95 ruled the day. Apple then focused, rightfully on gadgets under $300 , primarily their own version of the MP3 player, the Ipod; the the Ipad, Iphone. With their superior software sales took off. Not to mention shifting their manufacturing base to China where labor costs are 1/5th that of the U.S. The rest is history. I circle 2001 as the year Apple did a 180, now becoming the first $1 Trillion company. Now selling overpriced gadgets is fine, for they've got their loyal customers hooked like addicts, so price doesn't really matter anymore. May the force of greed prevail throughout the universe.
3
In 2008, I bought my kid 10 shares of Apple stock at $83/share to begin to teach her about money.
All the advice was buy some stock in something she likes and be prepared to lose the money. I was okay with losing $830. to teach her since I figured it would happen over time. Plus, the money came from change I had picked up over a few years on the street, so I considered it "free money".
Those 10 shares split to 70 shares. The $830. is now worth almost $20,000. in her account (including dividend payouts). She, nor I, have touched that account since 2008.
Some lesson she's learning!
8
@JD
you y taught your daughter to support a company that refuses to pay it's real share of corporate taxes, she learned that by OVERCHARGING for their products , they made lots of money and paid people like COOK far more than they are worth simply because they lead a company where most of the work is done by truly UNDERPAID Chinese workers who work 12 hours a day and sleep in hovels.
what a teacher you are.
4
@dve commenter
Yes.
I am a Bernie supporter, so she gets plenty of how they are The Man and how they are really Evil.
It is all a part of the lesson.
I know the market is going to crash. And with it, the "money" in her account. That, too, is part of the lesson.
I'm glad you get to determine how much people are worth, instead of something unfair like the free market...
“The question going forward is: Can Apple continue to innovate?”
Here's an alternative question going forward: Is Apple willing to shift gears out of superdrive, look down from its stratospheric heights and devote time, energy and financial resources to understanding and mitigating the negative effects of the worldwide lifestyle change that it has led? Or have they already begun searching for markets on other planets?
3
Apple products are good but not great. It has a loyal cult like following of customers who are willing to pay exorbitant prices for it's products.
5
It's ironic that when I work or volunteer in a non-prof office and see old Dells or HPs running some 10+ year-old version of Windows, the IT departments are usually made up of old(er), white, Microsoft MCP guys who've worked in their respective job for incredibly long careers. If Macs are around, they typically don't support them; worse, many solidified their career longevity doing everything they could to keep Macs out.
Contrast that against the advertising and marketing clients I work for with IT departments usually comprised of <50 year-olds, racially diverse, adept at multiple technology platforms, and pleasant folks who represent the real world we live in and the world of Apple.
1
@Robert Salm, a world sustained only by advertising and marketing only came to exist in the first place because of we old white dinosaurs who built it for you. Good luck making repairs on it to keep it running on your own with your Apple toys.
@Robert Salm Maybe the non for profit office cannot afford mac products that need to be replaced periodically as they become obsolete. They have to keep the old versions of Dells and HPs running as long as they can because.. they are non for profit.
I am a mac user and work in a for profit industry where we buy i-pads, i-phones, mackbook laptops, etc.. as candies but I respect the work conditions of non for profit and the longevity of many of their employees.
1
@LT That's a gut reaction, and I might agree with you, but non-profits get Macs at comparable rates these days. Macs last longer and need far less IT maintenance. But this is really the kind of argument I would've had back in the late 90s, not now.
Apple is one of the great stories of American innovation and market creation, on a par with the those companies that created the automotive industry.
Their financial market value is a direct reflection of their invention, business savvy and marketing expertise.
They abided by the laws of the land, they took advantage of Moore's law, and they hired the smartest people they could find. They went head to head with MicroSoft, IBM, Google and others and beat them all with better products that people all over the world wanted.
Above all else, they had the genius of personal edutainment computing in Steve Jobs.
I really wish I had held onto the shares I owned when they escaped their near bankruptcy. I was under the mistaken belief that just getting back to break even was good fortune. Talk about the one that got away.
Congratulations to Apple employees and Apple alumni. You made history and you earned it.
2
The CEO of the most successful corporation in the world is a liberal, out gay person.
"I'm proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me." --Tim Cook
While I know that this is a non-issue for most NYT readers, I just wanted to say to Mr. Cook: Thank you for your courage and congratulations on your success.
31
Robert b,
I am not sure what Tim Cook being gay has to do with, well, anything regarding his success following the late Steve Jobs. Let's hope you are not congratulating him for being gay and being successful. Being gay is not a skill set and he is not the only gay man to be successful.
4
@robert b- yes, even gays can be greedy, and corrupt. Capitalism doesn't care about one's sexual identity
4
@lou andrews Except when it does.
I sure wish I had invested a thousand dollars in Apple back in 1996. I'm sure I am not the only one with those regrets.
2
It seems worth considering how much of that value comes from publicly financed research and development. Yet, Republicans want to lower corporate tax rates.
4
From the late 70's to the late 90's Apple relied almost exclusively on 3rd party distributors, value added dealers and Apple Specialists to sell, support and preach the benefits of Apple products. Apple incentivized dealers to specialize on their products to compete against all the other computer manufacturers. Then, after decades of partnership Apple crushed their dealer and value added channels to focus almost exclusively on direct sales to end users, online and at Apple Stores, which came about around 2001.
This put thousands of American professionals out of work who had loyally staked their careers on Apple and replaced them with $11 an hour "geniuses".
There was nothing even handed about this change in business model. It negatively affected many careers and left small business people holding the bag on things like spare parts and inventory in which much had been invested. They were brutal and dishonest business partners, even if none of it was illegal.
8
@Billy That's also the time frame that they closed all of their US manufacturing and headed to China.
I would suggest breaking up the company, but Micorsoft would have to be broken up first. Why not break up both comapnies? Obvuisly, the government shouldl get involved ini making the US market more cometative.
@Joe Smally
Add Google, Amazon, Fbook to the list and all the phone/internet providers. I'm sure there are more mega corporations out there we can break up. The banks, too.
How? Because of "innovations" that encourage you to believe lies, and push kids into committing suicide. Amazing technology and progress, right?
3
I stopped paying attention after I found that 63 million had voted to elect a reality show host - professional liar as President of a country with output of nearly 20 Trillion
3
@Ramesh G Not like there was a good choice either way. The dems ran the worst presidential candidate available. Of course, her selection wasn't above board, what with all the DNC corruption revealed in the Podesta emails. Since the it ended up being a "lesser of two evils" election, I just opted for "none of the above", not voting for evil at all.
@DanThanks Dan, its good to know that when faced with a complex decision requiring reflection and critical thinking there are still Americans who sit it out.
Interesting that they know how to make a trilliion dollars but can’t make a watch that lasts beyond the warrenty.
7
Jean,
You solved your own query. That is in large part why they reached $1T. Their products break/malfunction and their cult followers just replace it with the newest model. Buy-Use-Replace-Repeat
1
@ACM when I took my hardly used watch in for repair, the repair cost the same as a new watch. The tech said quietly to me that I should consider a fitbit.
And they did it all without ever getting a penny of my money! I don't own any of their products and never will.
12
One trillion dollars is the amount of money this nation collectively spends as a result of medical error in our health care system, in other words, medical error costs us one trillion dollars every year.
https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/deaths-by-medical-mistakes-hit-rec...
1
What can they do with all of that money? How about not hidfing it in off shore accounts, and pay their share of taxes, rather than paying attorneys to loop holes so as not to have to pay taxes.
Why in the world does the apple stores have such long lines of citizens, when they come out with each product, only for those same citizens to have to make up the blance of taxes that Apple doesn’ okay . . . FOOLS ALL WHEN IT COMES TO BEING CYBER ADDICTED! Why it’s almost like walking into a post, or a wall!
3
@plages
Corrections -
What can they do with all of that money? How about not hidfing it in off shore accounts, and pay their share of taxes, rather than paying attorneys to *locate loop holes so as not to have to pay taxes.
Why in the world does the apple stores have such long lines of citizens, when they come out with each product, only for those same citizens to have to make up the blance of taxes that Apple *doesn’t . . . FOOLS ALL WHEN IT COMES TO BEING CYBER ADDICTED! Why it’s almost like walking into a post, or a wall!
By the way, are you just as frustrated by apples spell check -
An Apple a day keep their taxes away.
5
This really sounds a bit too bubbly....
3
@Glennmr
Agree! Apple's stock as well as the rest of big tech's is bloated beyond control. The bubble will burst eventually.
4
This is textbook of global economy. Apple is the envy of the world. In contrast, Donald is stuck in 1950's economy.
4
@Uly
And that’s truely what’s it’s all about! The greed game at the worlds expense!
Apple is not worth a trillion, regardless of valuation. No company is. Yet people automatically lap it up.
8
@Fourteen
If you don't think Apple is worth $1 trillion, sell it short. A simple call to your broker will do the job.
1
@Old Mountain Man
This is only appropriate when one's definition of worth aligns with the market's. It seems intuitive that the market's definition does not align with positive moral or ethical values.
Can you add a chart version for how many Trumps it takes?
Or are his liddle boxes below the visible pixel limit?
1
Build the iPhone and the iPad in America. Then we'll not only acknowledge your innovations, we'll be proud of them.
13
@Chris No one could afford it then.
2
@Chris
Not true. Apple's margins and profits are ridiculously high. They could do it without raising prices a penny. It's a choice: Maximize shareholder value or maximize citizenship value. To date, their choice has been utterly conventional.
I see lots of comments that reflect my thoughts about Apple. One thing I notice about Apple is, with all the money they make, there is never a price break for consumers. Really--a thousand dollars for an iPhone? It would be great to see Apple build production facilities here in the U.S.
26
@wjh
shouldn't be a huge surprise...Jeff Bezos is declared the world's richest person so....Amazon RAISES the price of Prime
if he had any sense he would have sold some stock , given all Prime members a year free and the publicity and good will surely would have shot the stock higher and paid him back .
nope
@wjh
Apple CEO Tim Cook donates $100 million to charity.
1
Microsoft Vista was the best friend Apple ever had. Most Apple buyers never went back, and why would they? Microsoft crashed with frequent regularity, often requiring hours of work to fix. Apple never crashed back in the day, so the extra product cost paid off in never experiencing lost production time -- thus making up the extra cost inside of a few days, if not a single day.
8
Interesting that this company who has there employees living in dormitories in China and doesn't pay there American workers in the stores anymore than in China.
I never wanted an Apple product because I saw how they treated there employees. Reading the bio of the CEO doesn't make me want to be anywhere near the corporation since he could of been cured of his cancer and chose to do his own thing. Most people don't have choices and want to live.
Since Apple isn't going to do anything for this country I could care less how much money they make .
8
Congratulations to Tim Cook! He filled Steve Jobs' very large shoes and lead Apple to this historic moment.
Apple not only continues to raise the bar in product quality and design, but is the only of the big five tech companies truly committed to preserving its customers' privacy.
For that, I am grateful and loyal.
27
Yeah? The US government has doled out transfer payments for entitlement programs primarily but not exclusively to one group just since 1965 that surpass $1 trillion dollars. And look at the beautiful cities we have to show for it...
2
Well done,Apple!
And perhaps me too,as likely the 'only' person who's yet to give a single cent to Apple.
Don't own any apple products.Probably never will.I am forever an Android girl!
And shortly,Trump will take credit for this or comment. Wait for it, wait for it...
3
Making America Great Again -
Celebrating a company that shelters its assets overseas to avoid paying American taxes , and has its product made in China to avoid hiring Americans and paying them fair wages.
14
Own several Apple products, they work well.
Own Apple stock, it pays a dividend.
Todays valuation is a gee-whizz,
one-day story. It doesn't matter.
What matters is Apple makes great products.
3
@Dog
And in the future great movies on TV to compete with Netflix & others ,it ain't the phone anymore it is the App's
and entertainment & pay card business.
By the way I have a 2004 Mac laptop that still works I am
sure that is part of Mac's success as well as the ease of learning how to use Apple products with intuitive intelligence Icon's & prompts.
1
A $trillion dollars net worth, because they sent manufacturing over seas, charge a great deal fro their products, hide money overseas from taxes, give raises barely keeping pace with inflation and just got a gigantic tax cut. Apple will be the first, of many companies, reporting increased value. The stock holders are very happy. Oh, did I forget the tax abatements they received, by building a new corporate headquarters?
17
@Nick Metrowsky
Apple was the USA's biggest taxpayer - it reserved $15.8 billion for income taxes on $59 billion in operating income last year. Apple reports its effective tax rate as 25.8%.
Apple's median salary is just short of $130,000.
And about 55% of Americans own stock - so if you own an ETF or Mutual fund you almost certainly have benefitted from Apple's success.
If you are smart like me then you have owned actual Apple stock for decades.
Owning it over the past decade would have returned 760% before dividends
11
@Nick Metrowsky
Apple does not "hide" money overseas.
1
@SteveRR If only I'd bought more stock when it was really cheap!!
For all of those complaining about iPhones and Apple products being manufactured in China, where is your phone manufactured? Look it up. Motorola used to be the one company which manufactured phones in the U.S. but doesn't anymore. China supplies 95% of rare earth minerals needed to manufacture smart phones, so where would you want phone producers to get the materials from? India produces a scant amount.
I have owned Apple products since the 1980's. I have appreciated their quality, and no I am not wealthy. I just prioritized my spending for a quality product that was reliable and easy to operate, because I am technologically challenged to say the least.
No business is altruistic, and yes their allegiance is to the bottom line. That is how they stay in business. Even this old liberal understands that. Yes, I would like to see businesses have more taxes levied on their profits, but even Warren Buffet takes advantage of tax breaks. So I say congratulations to a successful company which emerged from the near ashes.
45
@Diana
" Yes, I would like to see businesses have more taxes levied on their profits, but even Warren Buffet takes advantage of tax breaks."
But none of them need those breaks, that's the issue. They can easily pay whatever taxes the have to, no loopholes. The taxation system is the problem.
"How did it get here?"
Simple: By innovating and delivering products that people want to purchase at prices they can afford.
To Apple: Great job. Keep up the good work.
40
Many of the folks commenting focus on the iphone. It's not the revenue driver that it was before. The company has other products that are useful outside of the iphone and the firm is using its ridiculous amount of cash to invest in other businesses that will pay off down the line. I bought apple stock in the mid-1990s, sold and then bought some more a few years ago. The company is a BRAND and consumers love brands. that's the real value of the company, not the stuff it sells... the BRAND.
3
I've been an Apple fanboy for almost 40 years.
I remember the dark days when it looked like Apple was going to go belly up because their leading product was the Macintosh and PCs were eating their lunch. The original Mac had a much better user interface, but it was slower (because too many programs were running in the background) and it was too expensive.
Apple was saved by the iPod, which morphed into the iPhone. The Mac is still expensive, but the difference isn't as great and their quality is awesome. But the most important factor is that they've never stopped innovating.
10
Though the i-pod and i-phone represent significant milestones for Apple, the real advantage is their tight control over user experience and the consistent user interface and synchronization over different Apple devices. Other companies have tried to create a operating systems that had a consistent feel and look across their many platforms, but nobody has the control over so many products and their native software, and probably never will.
I haven't owned an i-phone since their competitors came up with cheaper, more interesting models, but 21 years later they still all use the brilliantly simple original i-phone design format.
I just bought a One-Plus 6, an Android phone that outperforms Apple's flagship model X and costs $450 less, but the market share of One-Plus is a fraction of that of the i-phone.
Maybe their real advantage is customer loyalty. The cult of Apple is an apt description.
1
With Apple, it’s about the entire ecosystem for many people.
In our household, the MacbookPro’s, iPads, Apple Watch, AirPods, Family Sharing on iCloud, FaceTime, Messages m, Family Sharing Apps - the seamless integration fits our lives perfectly, but it also means a significant disruption of the cohesive experience if we switched any component for a non-Apple product.
3
How do you get to be worth a trillion dollars?
Simple, make P.T. Barnum look like an amateur.
2
Does this count all of the money they've squirreled away in the Isle of Jersey to evade taxation?
16
@Dominic
Reduce/avoid, not evade. I also--as does nearly any rational being--arrange my financial affairs to reduce the amount owed. Pay what the law requires--but no more.
2
@Dominic exactly the first thought I had when I read the headline. The company deliberately sought out a place to stash cash specifically to avoid paying US taxes.
Legal-ish though it may have been....one does get tired of hearing the mantra 'our primary obligation is to benefit our shareholders' while we little guys have to dig a little deeper to make up the difference in lost tax revenue.
Next time you drive on crappy roads, a crumbling bridge, Air Traffic systems go down and delay your flight, or your kids get a crappy education....think of Apple and their shareholders. I do.
1
Vote your beliefs. And feel free to make a voluntary extra donation to the IRS next April 15. Just don't expect Apple to do so with other people's (shareholder's) money.
Microsoft was key in Apple's survival in the late 1990s.
Bought my first share of Apple when Microsoft helped Apple climb out the hole it was in.
I wouldn't bet against Apple now either.
2
The year Tim Cook took over as CEO of Apple he made more money than all Apple Store employees combined.
If the question is, how does a company get to be worth a trillion dollars? The answer is simple, you promote unbridled greed at all costs.
7
@Chicago Guy As a shareholder, I'm happy as long as the stock goes up. Apple's mission isn't to save the world or meet some lofty goal vis a vis society as a whole. It's to make $$$ for the shareholders. That's how the system works.
1
@Chicago Guy
Well if Apple's success and the loyalty of its customers arise from GREED, then as Gordon Gecko proclaimed, "GREED is good." (Oliver Stone's movie, Wall Street.)
1
Gerry Professor,
I liked your reference of "Greed is Good" but wished you had not included the movie name and Director name. If people don't know who Gordon Gecko is or why you referenced him specifically, well, they shouldn't be discussing money and success on a NYT public forum like this. BOOM!
Our era desperately needs a Teddy Roosevelt! Good luck having such a person rise through the ranks of either of our elitist, pro-corporate parties.
3
@Frank F It wasn't any different in TR's day. The power that be, at that time, were pissed at what he had done as governor. They slotted him to be Vice President thinking he would be out of their way, then William McKinley was shot and foiled their plans.
1
One of the keys to the iphone's success is that Apple does the software and the hardware (even designing their own processors). This tight coupling gives them control -- control over form and function but also over cost. Other companies should learn that lesson.
1
@Mr Big
So how come that didn't work for DEC, then?
If US govenrnment owned Apple and could sell the whole company at its valuation, it could cover the post-taxcut budget deficit for a full year. Next year there would need to be something else to sell.
No repayments yet, though.
3
@reg
If the US government owned Apple, it would be selling flip-phones, DOS-based desktops, and laptops that weighed 12 pounds. It would also be losing billions per year. So let's just dispense with that silly notion.
Without a doubt, Apple is now a monolith company and has not always been a paragon of virtue. What's more, the legacy of Steve Jobs is a complicated one - he has been deified a bit too much in popular culture.
Having said all that, I feel what gets overlooked now is how groundbreaking and transformative a product the smartphone has been to modern live. It has changed nearly every aspect of daily life - and its effects of that disruption continue to ripple through popular culture. For that invention alone, it makes sense to me that Apple continues to be a driving force in the economy going forward.
2
For our personal use we have two laptops (a Chromebook that cost $100 in 2017 and a Windows laptop that cost $500 in 2014), three Android phones (approximate cost is $200) and five Google Mini Homes that cost $35. We own Apple Stock and we would love for more Apple Products to be sold; however, we will almost never buy them.
15
Many years ago when I first ventured into buying a computer, ca. 1990, I had had modest exposure at work with DOS operating systems. I stuck with that into today in its various iterations, now Windows. But, my goal when buying digital items is to keep US businesses diversified and competitive. I do not buy Apple products and I do not buy Microsoft products, including software, except for the operating system. I want competition - that is what makes the US move forward. For many years I have bought a US made computer in Virginia. I am aware it uses some components made elsewhere, but still it employees many US workers including lifetime phone technical support. Shop to keep competition alive and well!
2
Remember when wimpy computer maker Apple used to cry that the big, bad Microsoft was stealing their ideas and using monopoly power to draw consumers to their products?
Fast-forward to 2018. Apple steals other companies' ideas and uses their monopoly power to draw consumers to their products.
What a shocker. At least the Macheads have FINALLY stopped pouting.
3
Think of what it may of been. If Steve was still with us?
2
What's even more amazing about Apple's near trillion dollar worth is that if Apple and its products disappeared from the face of the earth never to be seen again there would be some inconvenience but life in its present form would go on as is without any significant disruption. Apple is basically an extremely profitable entertainment company.
16
@Jay OrchardYes and no. Do you consider using the iPhone's..phone..as entertainment? Or Maps to get around? Or Email for work? Their products can be used for all sorts of things..but yes, mostly Instabook and Facegram.
2
@Marc Cusumano
You can do basically anything that you do on an Iphone using other devices that are made by companies that are not valued at $1 trillion.
Apple Maps? Seriously? Their mapping is awful. And my Android has a much better keyboard for texting. Oh and my Gmail runs circles around Apple email. What exactly is unique about their products that you can't do on any other new phone or laptop?
Very cool production. Betting their valuation is driven significantly by consumer sentiment for their much loved devices. Future value will be driven by who owns the big data, not by who makes the hardware, as good as it may be.
2
Say you have an iPhone 5 (6 years old; 5 models behind). The battery is exploding through the case. Take it into an Apple store. They won't fix it. They will sell you a new iPhone 5 (that won't even update anymore) for $79. That's right. They've got it all prorated out. No wonder they make so much money (aside from stashing cash overseas and manufacturing their products in China).
11
"Worth"? I'm not sure Apple is "Worth" a trillion. It did hit a trillion valuation this week. And down. And up. And round and round. Remember that the market is but a game in a dream, as life is but a dream. I like my iPhone. And my iPad. They enable me to communicate in multiple ways, and they can tell me how to get where I'm going. But the stock of the company that makes it is like a leaf in the wind, a winning lottery number, a game for very very rich people, and does not contain the meaning of life (except when one is using the calculator function, resulting in 42).
3
This article interestingly omits the most important person responsible for Apple still being here today: Bill Gates. When Microsoft under Gates loaned Apple $150 million and the releasing a native version of MS Word and Excel for Apple. Had that not happened, there would be no Apple today. They have copied every product they have released since from other companies. Sure they make refinements but nothing innovative by any means.
4
@Stefon Well, who copied whom? Microsoft Windows was a blatant copy of the Mac operating system, even Microsoft admitted it in court and paid damages. And the iPhone--that is a copy of what, exactly? It was the original smartphone that everyone else (Android, Samsung) has copied, over and over.
What? See this it problem with blind worship of a Company. You think they invented the wheel. Sorry Artie, but the iPhone was NOT the original smartphone AND yes Apple got their idea from IBM: https://www.businessinsider.com/worlds-first-smartphone-simon-launched-b...
I remember getting my first iphone when I was going into highschool. I always thought it was a big deal to me. So, I can imagine when the very first iphone came out, how huge it was for the United States. Over the past few years, Apple has used their momentum to push forward making different sorts of iphones. It is interesting to see how Steve Jobs didn't want to take a big leap to bring back the Apple Company in 1997, but instead wanted to stick to the simple stuff. "'We’re trying to get back to the basics,' said a weary Mr. Jobs in a 1997 internal meeting with staff. A video of the meeting posted online later showed him sporting shorts and sandals." I wonder why they mentioned him wearing this stuff, was it due to the fact that he was going to "get back to the basics"? It is amazing how far Apple has come. Being the first company to reach $1 trillion is an amazing accomplishment. "Now, with Apple reaching the $1 trillion milestone and the iPhone turning 11 years old, pressure is likely to increase for the company to develop a hit new product." I don't understand how they could have any more pressure. Since they reached $1 trillion for a company, how are they going to come out with a "hit" new product? It is a wonder how they can keep creating, topping everything that they have already achieved. This is a big step in the future for Apple, to top something like this would be remarkable.
1
They got there by creating products people loved and for which they are willing to overpay.
9
So if people hadn't been willing to overpay for these products, would any of us be having this conversation?
@ACM Yes, we would just be having this conversation some time in the future.
Their paltry customer service makes a good return for them when repair or recalls for faulty equipment is not in the offing. The only Apple store within a 200 radius and the lines go around for blocks before the place even opens. Customers have to litigate to force repairs of keyboards known faulty for years. Yep, a trillion out of their clients directly into their pockets well a side route through the nimble fingers of Chinese children. Time to root for China in our self-inflicted tariff wars.
3
@jaxcat;
Yes, Apple laptops have been designed and built poorly for a decade. I had two MacBook Pro's (2010 and 2012) go bad in less than 5 years and both laptops cost me $3,000.00 each.
One broke down right after Apple Care expired and it cost me $700.00 to have Apple swap a system board which itself was defective so Apple had to swap it again to fix it. A newer model died due to a faulty graphics chip and it cannot be repaired as there are no parts available anymore, plus Apple never fixed the graphics chip's problem anyway.
I could point out there is a YouTube video made by an independent Apple technician who repairs only Apple laptops and even though his primary income is from repairing Apple laptops, this tech has nothing good to say about Apple's engineering of the product, from power supplies, graphics chips, down to a tiny capacitor that is used to power up the computer that fails due to the capacitor not being of a better "value". Yet Apple continues in newer models to use that same capacitor.
I loved Macs, but after my experiences with my two laptops and with the poor service of Apple's repair service I would not recommend buying any Apple laptop. And the iMac's are totally sealed so one can never upgrade memory or internal disk storage. Therefore I wouldn't recommend buying any Mac and I surely will not after my still working MacBook Pro dies.
1
@Fredric I was on the Apple bandwagon for a long time (since the 90s), but I've bought my last Apple laptop and iPhone. The products are no longer innovative yet remain overpriced. Don't even get me started on the insanity that is iTunes.
@Fredric sorry to hear that. I've an Apple Macbook running 10.8.6 and that is OLD. It works fine for how i use it, mostly to write and watch old dvds since it has a player.
Love it. I’ve been waiting for this all day! This is what a company can do when it keeps not only its investors in mind, but also keeps trust with the people who want beautiful, functional, secure products. I’m proud of Apple for achieving this. At least there’s one American company who isn’t afraid to tell the government they won’t toady about encryption and privacy. Proudly sent from my iPhone.
27
As the title of this article states, Apple stock is worth $1 trillion at this moment in time, as a function of the market place, but that does not mean that Apple has $1 trillion or even that Apple's balance sheet shows a net worth of $1 trillion or shows $1 trillion worth of assets.
On the other hand, back when Apple was in big trouble, the Apple brand was one of the three most well-known brand names... in the world. Right up there with Coca Cola! That alone, convinced me to hold onto the stock, not sell, and buy even more in 1997 and 1998, well before the iPod and iPhone.
2
Wow! I never realized there were so many Apple haters. I used Windows machines at work since most employees each had their own, and even before, and I'd still take a Mac over Windows any day. To me, their products are worth the price tag. And there are deals to be found. Plus I hang onto what I have for a long time before upgrading to a new product. I'm in my 70's now, but there is still a new Mac in my future.
61
@JanetM Υou don't have to hate a company's products to object to their pitifully small contribution to the country's taxation bill.
Yet, for all of its $1 trillion market value, Apple only has about 80,000 employees of its own in the US:
https://www.apple.com/job-creation/
That's only about the size of a single large healthcare system:
https://innovation.partners.org/about/about-partners-healthcare
Yes, the Apple "ecosystem" supports many more jobs than it employs directly. But the enormous ratio of the company's market value and its number of employees highlights how much of today's economy is focused on shareholders rather than on workers.
5
Apple makes so much money and hates paying taxes. They would shop the world over to get a good tax deal. Now satisfied by the US corporate tax rate. The same with production where China fits well, cheap labor and a huge market. A historic boom.
5
When your costs to manufacture are low because you use labor outside of the US (i.e. China), of course you're going to have larger profits.
16
I purchased Apple for $10 a share many, many years ago. I tried to convince my friends to do the same. They thought I was crazy, I was but I believed in the products and still do.
14
@Mary Me too, but I had a good friend who worked in tech who was convinced Apple was going to fold, so I bought fewer shares than I normally would have.
I had a notion that they were too clever to fail, but no notion that they would have gone beyond being a computer company.
I've never owned a MacBook or an i-pad, but I still own the stock and it will make retirement a bit more comfortable.
1
Goodness! I had no idea we had so many communists reading the NYTimes! Forced breakup of companies? Shouldn't be allowed to earn that much money or charge that much for products? I wonder who the next Stalin or Mao will be in the US? I hope I'm dead by then!
I was at my local Apple store last night buying my grandson a very expensive Apple MacBookPro to take to engineering school with him in a couple of weeks. The store was packed with people from all walks of life, all races, all ethnic groups. The rest of the mall was not very busy at all.
Apple's success is that they make great products that work and enhance our lives. This boy's mother was given the first computer owned by anyone in our family in 1990 - the little Mac Plus. It served her well. Later, we all got various Apple computers, then iPhones and later iPads. One might have gotten an iPod. They have all been great products that did more than we expected them to do and were very reliable As an interior designer, their great design was important to me - a real "plus".
My grandson's university does not recommend a particular platform in the engineering school, just gives the tech requirements for any computer brought to school. With a bit of research, he discovered that an Apple laptop is the one preferred by most of the students if they can afford it. I was delighted to make that possible for him. It will serve him well, too - same computer brand, same university.
They deserve their success.
138
@India It's just kind of funny how we treat one company different than the rest. Here's an easy relevant example, Microsoft, they broke them up how many times now? It really deterred the success of their company, but Apple gets to stay whole and reap the rewards.
2
@India That is another complaint about Apple. I never go into their stores anymore. No rest rooms for the public. You would think a trillion dollar company could afford at least one rest room. They tell you to go down the mall someplace and use another store's facilities. What cheap creeps they are. Now I go to a repair shop in the same shopping center where the clerks are polite and get the repairs done quickly. Not like Apple which takes 3 weeks sometimes.
7
@India Your loyalty is admirable if naive. Apple products are overpriced and one of the worst for planned obsolesence, forcing you to upgrade to another overpriced product. You could buy your grandson a new laptop every year he's in college that would perform as well as the Mac for what you just paid last night.
3
Is the NYTimes counting the $ 246,000,000,000.00 dollars that Apple has overseas?*
*https://money.cnn.com/2017/02/01/investing/apple-cash-overseas/index.html
24
@Majortrout Why is everyone posting this old story? Apple has brought that cash back to the Staes and paid taxes on it. https://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2018/01/17/apple-says-it-w...
1
And yet the latest iOS update rendered my fiance's iPhone incapable of playing podcasts - or any other audio.
Think different indeed...
12
@Mikeweb
???
My iPhone 4 can play podcasts and any other audio I want. Its iOS is up to date. Your fiancé needs to talk to someone at Apple.
Great! Now can Apple pay their fair share of taxes like I do on the comparatively paltry barely 6 figure profits/income from my small 2 person business?
Interestingly, most of the people I know of with iPhones are teens and tweens whose parents feel compelled to provide their children with absurdly overpriced status symbols. Many of them are walking around with cracked screens they can barely see, because despite the price Apple still hasn't figured out how to develop an iPhone screen that can withstand the use most smartphones manufacturers achieved years ago.
Nokia Lumia might not have been sexy, but I'm a total klutz and I dropped that phone a trillion times before the screen finally cracked and I had to replace it after nearly 4 years. I'm currently on year 2 of an older model Samsung Galaxy. I'm getting better. I've only dropped this phone a million times so far.
28
How do you get to be worth a trillion dollars?
The trick is to make something for $100 and sell it for $1000. To throw all your users under a bus with each new OS release. To convince buyers that buy having your product they will be inherently cooler than other people. To buyout, strong-arm, or sue competitors into the ground. To aggregate technology rather than invent it yourself. To encourage a culture of elitism. To outsource your manufacturing to foreign countries who pay the fewest amount of pennies for a days work. To move your profits out of the country, and aggressively use tax shelters to avoid paying anything towards the upkeep of the country that allowed to you get your start. To heavily lobby politicians to put your interests above everyone else's. To force push software and firmware updates that slow down older products in order to speed-up their obsolescence. To gouge customers on every proprietary power supply, cable, and accessory. To convince people that $1000 for a portable phone is reasonable. To steal your entire design aesthetic whole-cloth from another company (Braun). To find a group of people devoid of personal style, and sell them your companies style as a proxy. To use marketing to create an association between your inanimate objects and a "lifestyle" that only your products can provide. To foster a culture of insatiable technological need. To be ruthless.
That's how you get to be worth a trillion dollars.
111
To sum up..WE made Apple worth a trillion dollars. Don't like it? Buy a different phone.
19
Give it up, random. Apple has a "cult" following and they will pay anything for the newest shiny object.
@Chicago Guy Every line of your paragraph is true. Apple fanboys won't ever realize all these points. It's almost like the Trump fan-base.
2
This is ludicrous. No company should be allowed to get this big and control so much of OUR lives.
Every "tech" company must be broken up and made to compete in every category they participate in. They use money from one category - phones - to take over other categories. No more.
What kind of a "grocer" would Jeff Bezos be if Whole Foods had to compete with other grocers without all the Amazon cash? What kind of bookseller would be be?
What kind of communications provider would Apple be if they didn't rely on all the "offspring" to bring in the cash?
Serious Tech Anti-Trust regulation is years overdue. NOW is the time to knock them down to size.
8
@njglea Seriously? Perhaps you should look at Comcast, AT&T, Google, and Facebook before you go after Apple. There are plenty of well loved alternatives to Apple products. Want a PC? Get a Dell, Lenovo, etc. Want a phone? There's Huawei and Samsung. Want a laptop? The same. Want a streaming music or video provider? There's Spotify, Pandora, Netflix, Hulu and others.
Apple simply creates a lovely user experience that one doesn't have in other ecosystems ... yet.
20
I said NO company, Dot.
@njglea - I, and many others, have never owned even one iPhone, yet I own/carry/use two cell phones along with Apple stock. Where is the monopoly? People make choices every day which you nor I agree with - where is the crisis?
14
Maybe it is time for Apple to start paying as much for in taxes as a single mother with two kids...
97
@Nick then you (and others with views similar to yours) should be 100% for all of Trump’s tariffs as well. In fact, you should be arguing that his 10% rate is too low.
Tariffs are exactly the same as corporate taxes. Period.
1
@Nick
Give it a rest, Nick. Apple paid taxes.
Don't see you whining about Walmart, who hid 76 billion in Tax Revenue Havens.....
1
21 years ago Apple was on the brink of bankruptcy, now it is worth $1 trillion. At least for today.
This must infuriate Trump who 6 chances by actually declared bankruptcy six times and got nowhere near $1 trillion, just a lousy T-shirt from the White House.
49
There was a time back in the 1990s when Apple licensed its operating system, so other companies could build computers using it.
Apple is now a monopoly, making monopoly profits. The owners of its stock, including many of its workers, become lottery winners, and thereby worsen economic inequality in the U.S. and the world.
It's time to break up the monopoly. Apple should be forced to license its OS X and iOs to whoever.
10
@abo
Apple's bout with insolvency was due, in no small part, to the decision to license the Macintosh operating system to Power Computing at the urging of Bill Gates. John Sculley took Gates's advice and licensed the MacOS. Apple's ship took on even more water and was circling the drain when Sculley was forced to walk the plank and the entire licensing plan was treated as jetsam. Apple, and its stock valuation, never looked back
8
@abo Dude...buy a Dell...or a Samsung...or any number of other comparable products.
1
Apple shares. The only thing I'll ever buy from Apple (and always through index funds).
7
The pivotal player was John Sculley. If he had been even modestly successful there would have been no saga, no need to rise from the ashes, and no iPhone. Failure survived once again proves it's value ... no failure, no great success.
13
Wow, what an amazing Taoist insight. Thanks for this gem, great to meditate on.
2
@Charles Becker - So, by your evaluation, Trump really -is- making America great again... we just have to wait for it, and live past the mess now.
How much of that trillion dollar valuation is the result of the Internet? Without this public/private initiative begun right around the time of Apple's founding, the iPhone, iPod and iCloud and Apple itself wouldn't be possible. Apple didn't do it alone.
34
@Eugene A. Melino
Of course. Thank you Al Gore!!!
Pathetic. Apple is a tax dodging company. It reached this valuation not from innovation but by building its products in slave labor countries and then stashing nearly $128 billion in profits in overseas accounts out of reach by the IRS.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/06/world/apple-taxes-jersey.html
If all of my income was not taxed like Apple's, I would be living in a nice retreat in Bora Bora.
92
@mrpisces As are all successful US corporations. Their CFO's would be fired if they didn't take advantage of EVERY legal opportunity.
7
@mrpisces
Apple pays the most taxes of any company in the USA at a rate of about 26% for $15.8 billion paid in taxes.
It does not pay US taxes on things it sells in other countries - it pays taxes to those countries where they are sold and consumed - which many folks think is kinda common sense.
A significant part of its recent success is the services that it is offering - so no 'slave labor' to provide a service unless you count the enslaved electrons.
2
That money was made overseas. 60% of their revenue comes from overseas. When they bring that money back to the US as they are doing now taxes are paid on that money. Over 30 billion in taxes I believe. Yeah tax dodgers.
The day I celebrate this milestone is the day Apple pays its taxes. They pretend to be a force for good for their community and yet twist themselves into pretzels finding ways to avoid paying taxes in the US. The best, most equitable way they could contribute to their community would be to pay their fair share towards the costs of the country that has enabled them to become the huge success they are. Spare us the argument that they're doing what's best for their shareholders by limiting their tax liability. Exploiting loopholes in the name of the fiduciary duty owed to shareholders is unethical and should be illegal. The average taxpayer has no such "legal" argument and neither should corporations.
207
Like all publicly traded companies (and like most non-traded ones), Apple exists to maximize value for its owners. Keep this in mind anytime any company proclaims to be a "force for good." Yeah, maybe, but that's incidental, and they should me making as much $ from doing it as legally possible.
4
@Rod F Apple is going to be a target for corporate hate now, more than ever before---and very unfairly. They aren't a big coal company, trying to hold back the world; they are at the forefront of a lot of positive change, useful devices that are fun to use, and have passed along $100 billion to developers writing programs for their devices, in the best free market I've ever seen. They're leaders in environmental issues and promotion of green technology, and have paid a much higher rate in taxes than other big corporations. Bad tax policy can't be fixed by individual companies. They are responsible employers in China, despite all the lies to the contrary, and their devices support many more and much better jobs here.
23
@Rod F Not sure why you're upset at Apple for trying to find ways around paying taxes when the loopholes were created intentionally. You should be directing your ire at the politicians in this case.
3
“The question going forward is: Can Apple continue to innovate?”
I would like to tweak the question: Can America continue to innovate? History says it can but what we need to realize is that the American ingenuity almost always came from those who were deprived such opportunity in the lands they were born. With a xenophobic at the helm surrounded by nativists I worry about finding the answer to that question.
53
@Ranjith Desilva
It is worth noting that, although Jobs was born in the US, his biological father was Syrian.
2
when the ipod was introduced, it was more $ then other mp3 players already on the market, and bigger, and heavier, yet it offered zero technical improvements, except for a fancy scroll wheel that didn't work well
it did have software that made it easy to download music
"easy to use" = end of story
The first iphone was a lousy phone
yet it made the web easy to use on the go
"easy to use" = end of story
otoh, apple sold a lot of poorly build computers (had a very $ laptop with rubbery keys that *left rubber* on the screen), ntm the power connector and many other issues
yet computer journalists kept giving apple unlimited praise in product reviews for good hardware
I think the slavish attitude of the computer media had much to do with apple's rise under Jobs
PS: the amount of money spent on iphone development made it a bet the company project;
4
Obviously every user’s experience varies but I have had two Macs in my life: a PowerBook and a MacBook Pro. The PowerBook lasted nine years without any issues and eight years on I am still using the MBP and running the latest version of macOS quite well. I had the click wheel iPod and loved it right up until it was stolen. Since then I have had three iPod Touch models and been very happy with all of them. Two years from now when I need a new computer I will buy another Mac and if I ever buy a smartphone I will buy an iPhone. I’ll do this not because of status seeking but because in my experience Apple products are well made, durable and reliable.
51
The human cost for this success has been very high, though. Not that suffering has ever been the concern of the capitalist class. Especially if the suffering is done mainly by non-whites in other countries.
43
@Tony Long Which tech products are you using that were not made by non-whites in other countries?
1
Pretty amazing. Congratulations Apple!
44
Congratulations! Do you have an app to get rid of Trump?
144
@Keith Everything is about Trump!
4
Seems like yesterday when only Carl Sagan and the US government threw around numbers like this.
20
I am doubt of whether Apple can continue to innovate because I don't pay attention to new Apple products any longer.
14
@xipoci you're confusing cause and effect there xipoci! Apple or its engineers don't know who you are.
6
Just imagine going back to 1998 and telling yourself that in twenty years: A. The nearly bankrupt niche computer company called Apple will be worth a trillion dollars accounting for roughly 5% of national GDP, B. they will charge $1000 for a fancy PHONE and people will buy it en masse, and C. Donald Trump will be president. Still no flying cars, though.
191
Flying cars would have been more believable in 1998 than Apple growing to a $1T market cap! Really an amazing story, made even more amazing to me by the fact that Jobs was not an engineer or even a designer. He was a guy who could look ahead to what people would need, given the state of technology at the time. The unsung heroes, led by Wozniak and Ivey and even Cook, are the people who took Job’ vision and turned it into reality.
38
Alternative view -- this is obvious proof that Apple is a cult, and needs Schumer and Pelosi to harass them. That is, to give them something to do.
Case in point: look at all the iPhones and MacPros on college campuses, which have giant prices and profit margins .. and colleges being mostly funded with taxpayer-subsidized student loans.
Is that "fair?" I don't think so, just like non-smokers being forced to fund Medicaid for smokers.
1
@Levi Hello 911 I'd like to report a stocks/flows atrocity
1