Apple Inc.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Apple Inc.
The Apple logo designed by Rob Janoff. |
Type |
Public (NASDAQ: AAPL)
S&P 500 Component |
Industry |
Computer hardware
Computer software
Consumer electronics
Digital distribution |
Predecessor |
Apple Computer, Inc. (January 9, 2007) |
Founded |
Cupertino, California, U.S. (April 1, 1976) |
Founder(s) |
Steve Jobs
Steve Wozniak
Ronald Wayne [1] |
Headquarters |
1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, California, U.S. |
Number of locations |
300 (August 2010)[2] |
Area served |
Worldwide |
Key people |
Steve Jobs (Co-founder, Chairman and CEO)
Tim Cook (COO)
Peter Oppenheimer (CFO)
Bob Mansfield
Jonathan Ive (Industrial Design)[3] |
Products |
Mac (Pro, Mini · iMac · MacBook, Air, Pro · Xserve)iPod (Shuffle, Nano, Classic, Touch)iPhone (Original · 3G · 3GS · 4), iPad, Apple TV,
Cinema Display, AirPort, Time CapsuleMac OS X (Server), iLife, iWork, iOS |
Services |
Stores (retail, online, App, iTunes, iBooks)
MobileMe |
Revenue |
▲ $42.91 billion (2009)[4] |
Operating income |
▲ $11.74 billion (2009)[5] |
Profit |
▲ $8.24 billion (2009)[5] |
Total assets |
▲ $47.50 billion (2009)[4] |
Total equity |
▲ $31.64 billion (2009)[4] |
Employees |
34,300 (2009)[6] |
Subsidiaries |
Braeburn Capital, FileMaker Inc. |
Website |
Apple.com |
Apple Inc. (
NASDAQ:
AAPL; previously
Apple Computer, Inc.) is an American
multinational corporation that designs and markets
consumer electronics,
computer software, and
personal computers. The company’s best-known hardware products include the
Macintosh line of computers, the
iPod, the
iPhone and the
iPad. Apple software includes the
Mac OS X operating system; the
iTunes media browser; the
iLife suite of multimedia and creativity software; the
iWork suite of productivity software;
Aperture, a professional photography package;
Final Cut Studio, a suite of professional audio and film-industry software products;
Logic Studio, a suite of music production tools and its
iOS Mobile Operating System. As of August 2010, the company operates 301
retail stores[7][8] and an
online store where hardware and software products are sold. in ten countries,
Established on April 1, 1976 in
Cupertino,
California, and incorporated January 3, 1977,
[9] the company was previously named Apple Computer, Inc., for its first 30 years, but removed the word “Computer” on January 9, 2007,
[10] to reflect the company’s ongoing expansion into the
consumer electronics market in addition to its traditional focus on personal computers.
[11] As of September 26, 2009, Apple had 34,300 full time employees and 2,500 temporary full time employees worldwide
[12] and had worldwide annual sales of $42.91 billion in its
fiscal year ending September 26, 2009.
[5]
For reasons as various as its
philosophy of comprehensive aesthetic
design to its
distinctive advertising campaigns, Apple has established a unique reputation in the consumer electronics industry. This includes a customer base that is devoted to the company and its brand, particularly in the United States.
[13] Fortune magazine named Apple the most admired company in the United States in 2008, and in the world in 2008, 2009, and 2010.
[14][15][16] The company has also received
widespread criticism for its contractors’ labor, environmental, and business practices.
[17][18]
History
1976–1980: The early years
The Apple I, Apple’s first product. Sold as an assembled circuit board, it lacked basic features such as a keyboard, monitor, and case. The owner of this unit added a keyboard and a wooden case.
Apple was incorporated January 3, 1977
[9] without Wayne, who sold his share of the company back to Jobs and Wozniak for $800. Multi-millionaire
Mike Markkula provided essential business expertise and funding of $250,000 during the incorporation of Apple.
[29][30]
The Apple II was chosen to be the desktop platform for the first “
killer app” of the business world—the
VisiCalcspreadsheet program.
[32] VisiCalc created a business market for the Apple II, and gave home users an additional reason to buy an Apple II—compatibility with the office.
[32] According to Brian Bagnall, Apple exaggerated its sales figures and was a distant third place to Commodore and Tandy until VisiCalc came along.
[33][34]
By the end of the 1970s, Apple had a staff of computer designers and a production line. The company introduced the ill-fated
Apple III in May 1980 in an attempt to compete with
IBM and
Microsoft in the business and corporate computing market.
[35]
Jobs and several Apple employees including
Jef Raskin visited
Xerox PARC in December 1979 to see the
Xerox Alto. Xerox granted Apple engineers three days of access to the PARC facilities in return for the option to buy 100,000 shares of Apple at the pre-IPO price of $10 a share.
[36] Jobs was immediately convinced that all future computers would use a graphical user interface (
GUI), and development of a GUI began for the
Apple Lisa.
[37]
In December 1980, Apple launched the
initial public offering of its stock to the investing public.
[citation needed] When Apple went public, it generated more capital than any IPO since
Ford Motor Company in 1956 and instantly created more millionaires (about 300) than any company in history. Several venture capitalists cashed out, reaping billions in long-term capital gains.