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Apple's Market Cap Exceeds Google's
Lawrence Person writes "Mac Daily News was one of many Apple-followers to note that Apple Inc.'s market capitalization exceeded Google today. That means that the combined value of all Apple's outstanding shares of stock exceeded the combined value of all Google's outstanding shares of stock. Apple's stock is worth $157 billion and change vs. Google's $156 billion. Other companies Apple has surpassed in market cap include Cisco, HP, and Intel. Also, Apple is now worth 3 times the value of Dell Computer, despite Dell's founder and CEO declaring over a decade ago that if he ran Apple, he'd 'shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders.'"
Apple is also larger than oracle, sap, and cisco, and nearly as large as IBM. The only tech company larger than Apple by any significant margin is Microsoft; but even then, Apple is more than 60% as large as Microsoft and is growing considerably faster.
How can a company with $24B in sales, $3B in profit, and $40B in cash and assets (2007 figures) have a market cap of $160B?
Most companies trade at a P/E much, much greater than 1. Historically, a P/E of 14 counts as "fair value", the point considered neither high nor low. For comparison, the average for the tech sector as a whole varies over time between 40 (at the height of the bubble) and 25 (currently in that range). Apple, at 35, falls a bit higher than its sector, but not so much that you'd call it extreme.
Google provides services for free?
You've got the model backwards. *You* (and I) are the products Google is selling to advertisers. The freebies are just fluff to keep the product happy.
It's a fair model, and I sound more cynical than I actually am, but it's worth remembering in any dealings with companies like Google.
How can a company with $24B in sales, $3B in profit, and $40B in cash and assets (2007 figures) have a market cap of $160B?
You used the 2007 figures of $3bn profit. The last figures are $4.6bn profit for the last year. That would be 50 percent growth, which is the key factor. Someone posted that you'd need 53 years to make $160bn if you make $3bn profit a year. Obviously we would need to subtract the $40B in cash and assets firsts, leaving $120bn. And divide by $4.6bn per year, making it 26 years which is about equivalent to 3.9% interest per year. But now we have to factor in the growth: If Apple managed the same growth for the next three years, then profit could triple and the 3.9% interest goes up to 12%. That is why Microsoft is valued so low: Because the market doesn't expect any growth anymore.
Huh? It's right in their 10-Q under Operating Expenses.
With Dell it is always "devil in details."
Apple has the "attention to details" thing on their product development plan.
I understand that most geeks only look at specs.
But I also consider day to day routine important. And for many things Macs with Mac OS X are magnitude better compared to Dell with Vista. Devil in details, so to say.
Point is, newly bought Mac is ready out of box for average Joe Six-Pack. Newly bought Dell with Vista has to be brought to your geek friend to make out of it something the Joe Six-Pack can use.
You can't like Dell - because it is albeit useful but only a tool. But you can like Apple products because they are made to be liked. And they are also useful. That's why I can easily imaging that some people might get religious over stuff which "Just Works" (c).
P.S. To be frank, I have seen the Macfanboism only in US. US is in particular over-religious place. People get there religious over different things all the time. Apple is literally religious about making good stuff, so some people start following: and it is only logical.
All hope abandon ye who enter here.
I see you worship at the church of Apple.
Or, maybe he provided a well thought-out list of specific, quantifiable, verifiable reasons why Apple is a company worthy of respect. You might want to go re-examine "worship" in the dictionary. (Hint: It does not mean "someone who disagrees with me.")
"We can categorically state we have not released man-eating badgers into the area." - UK military spokesman, July 2007
>McDonald's food sales compare with the profits from the sale of its unwanted real estate and so on.
Ray Krog is on record as stating that McDonald's core business is PROPERTY - not burgers. As he put it: everyone I ever met can make a better hamburger than McDonalds- none of them are rich though.
What McDonalds did so well was to let you finance the cost of the franchise (with it's massive brand recognition and marketing power) by using the bond on the property where you wanted to put it. The result is that McDonalds corporation now owns many of the most valuable street corners in all the biggest cities in the world: and that lets you finance any other investment you care to make. When the franchise no longer works in the region (it became less residential and more commercial as an area) - you can rent or sell out the property you got there at massive profits over the cost of giving somebody a franchise there ones.
If the franchise never fails, you ultimately end up earning not only repetitive franchise-fees but rent on the property as well !
Unicode killed the ASCII-art *
I would be more worried about an economic recession taking away Apple's market, but if that happens then any stock you choose will be toast.
Lousiest piece of economic advice I've heard today. A recession means a great shift in consumer demand where high-margin "fashionable" products to low-margin "cost concious" goods across the line, both in terms of what products people buy and which products of a given type. If you don't see how that'd affect some stocks way more than others, you should really stay out of it.
Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
Point is, newly bought Mac is ready out of box for average Joe Six-Pack. Newly bought Dell with Vista has to be brought to your geek friend to make out of it something the Joe Six-Pack can use.
Having set up Macs for my family, I have to say: that's a myth. Macs do not come with all the software people need, and finding and installing that software is something "Joe Six-Pack" can't do.
That's why I can easily imaging that some people might get religious over stuff which "Just Works" (c).
Macs do not "just work"; that's a marketing fiction created by Apple. They do work a little better than Windows, but that's a far cry from "just work".
But you can like Apple products because they are made to be liked.
Yes, that they are. They look nice, they have nice themes, the sound nice, and they are nicely packaged. And Apple has successfully created an association in people's minds that their machines are easy to use and are the right choice for smart people who have better things to do with their time than fiddle with computers.
Oh, no... Ron Paul is back.
Please take an entry level econ course, and convince Ron to as well.
The total amount of money is NOT limited. Wealth is not finite. Even if you DID hold the money supply constant, then the value of the money would simply go up as wealth was created.
Money is just a means to simplify barter. Don't get too hung up on it's "value". You shouldn't be holding on to piles of cash - especially not under the mattress.
W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
Can't resist a challenge!
Mac Book Pro 15":
Black Case
2.5 GHz C2D
2GB RAM
250GB 5400RPM SATA HDD
15.4" Screen, 1440x900, LED backlight
8x DVDR/CDR
Wireless-N
Bluetooth
Dimensions: 1"x14"x10", 5.4 lbs
Price - $2500
Dell Studio 15:
Black Case
2.5 GHz C2D
2GB RAM
250GB 5400RPM SATA HDD
15.4" Screen, 1440x900, LED backlight
8x DVDR/CDR
Wireless-N
Bluetooth
Dimensions: 1"-1.3"x14"x10", 6.1 lbs
Price - $1269
So the Dell is slightly heavier, and slightly thicker at one end, but costs basically half the price. Every other spec I could find is equivalent.
---- Den ene knappen er powerknapp, den andre er Bender voice knapp "Bite My Shiny Metal Ass"