Apple’s fourth quarter of 2011 was amazing (APPL). Here are a few incredible statistics:
- Apple is now worth more than the GDP of Greece….literally an entire country.
- Apple’s revenue was $46.3 billion, representing year-over-year growth of 73%.
- Apple sold 5.2 million Macs, 15.4 million iPods, 37 million iPhones, and 15.4 million iPads.
- With a market cap of around $419 billion, Apple is now the largest company in the world, overtaking Exxon Mobil’s market cap.
- Apple’s $96.7 billion in cash reserves is larger than the combined market capitalization of 474 companies in the S&P 500.
- Apple’s revenue for the quarter was more than twice that of Microsoft Corporation.
- Apple’s net income grew more than Google’s revenue for the quarter.
If you never purchased Apple stock in the past, you’re kicking yourself. It recently traded at an all time high of $454.
There is a certain satisfaction gained for long-time Apple supporters that have endured a lot of hard times. There were those that ridiculed Apple as a niche player relegating the Mac to graphics and artsy people only. They said it was not a serious business machine because of it’s graphical user interface while Microsoft went on to copy most of the look and feel with Windows. Analysts have been wrong so many times about Apple showing that they never really understood its strategy or place in the computer arena.
Well now the world is different. Macintosh vs. Windows isn’t such an important consideration anymore. Apple is in an incredible position from any standpoint. In the end, Apple creates great products that are designed well and really work to get the job done. No one can argue with that. I’ve seen time and again companies saving significant headaches and improving bottom line results by an investment in Apple technology.
On the other hand the Windows market is still a huge business. The amount of time spent supporting, maintaining, and training people to use Windows workstations is staggaring. It won’t go away soon, but it’s importance is being challenged…primarily by the mobile market. Everyone wants mobile. If you can’t take it with you easily it simply isn’t as useful. The mobile market is dominated by Apple’s iOS and the iPad/iPhone.
Cimbura.com is positioned well to provide solutions that work for all users across platforms…Mac OS, Windows, web and especially Mobile (iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch)…all through our custom FileMaker and web solutions.
With FileMaker being a wholly owned subsidiary of Apple (though 80% of their clients run Windows), they have significant resources behind them to succeed in the future. In addition, FileMaker has been profitable ever since their inception…even without Apple’s backing. FileMaker is devoting the R&D necessary to move users into the future with a cost-effective and worthy solution to many business problems. We’re proud to be a part of it.
Sources:
Tim Cimbura – CEO, CFO and Software Engineer
Tim is an expert in creating custom business solutions that make businesses more effective, productive, and profitable. He specializes in rapid application development with the Claris platform including FileMaker, Laravel, and WordPress. He also knows Apple macOS technology inside and out.