A History of Apple Inc
Apple Inc is THE most valuable company in the world. Until a recent decline in stock price, Apple was approaching a $1 trillion valuation. How did it get so big? Boca Raton Pawn outlines a History of Apple Inc.
Apple Inc was established on April 1st, 1976. It was founded by three men, one of whom you know very well: Steve Jobs along with Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. They set out to sell the Apple 1 personal computer kit. The first Apple 1 cost $666.66 which is around $2,700 today if you adjust for inflation.
In 1977 Apple was finally incorporated but only with Jobs and Wozniak. Foolishly, Wayne sold his share of the company for $800!
Apple sold the Apple II and Apple III before going public in 1980. The IPO created more millionaires (around 300) than any other public stock offering.
By 1984 the Macintosh was introduced. Initially sales were very strong. However, as time went on sales started to slide because of the high retail price coupled with strong competition.
In 1985 Jobs started trouble. He was fighting with the CEO at the time John Sculley. Eventually Jobs was “relieved” of his duties and left Apple. He founded a company called NeXT Inc. soon after.
In the late 80’s Apple was thriving. There were introducing new product after new product and they were all successes.
Then, in the 90’s everything fell apart. Apple was experimenting with multiple products in an array of industries including speakers and TV’s. They had no direction anymore. Also, companies like Microsoft started making efficient, easy to use, and inexpensive software to compete with Apple.
It wasn’t until 2001 that Apple reached profitability again. They introduced the iPod and sold over 100 million units within the first few years. Along with the iPod Apple created the iTunes store that sold individual songs for $0.99. Also, Steve Jobs was back.
From 2005-2007 Apple’s stock price rose from $6 to over $80 making it more valuable than competitors like Dell. Still, Apple only owned 8% of the desktop computer market.
In 2010 Apple invented a new market: the tablet. The iPad was the first of its kind. It has a 9.7″ screen and performs most tasks that can be performed on a computer. It is extremely portable and has sold over 100 million units worldwide since it’s introduction.
In October 2011 Apple’s market cap reached $624 billion. They set the record for the most valuable company of all time, even adjusted for inflation.
Apple has had its ups and downs. Today we can easily say it is up! Will Apple continue to thrive at such a high rate? No one knows for sure. One thing we do know is Apple Inc. has been one of the best innovators of the last century.
by, Seth Marcus at Boca Raton Pawn
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