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Communities of Leadership: Apple now most valuable tech company
No comments · Posted by Scott in Case Studies
The Financial Times reported today that Apple has surpassed Microsoft to become the most valuable technology company in the world. As of the close of the New York Stock Exchange, the FT said Apple was worth $222 billion, second only in value to ExxonMobil.
The FT article calls the achievement “above all a triumph for (Steve Jobs,) a chief executive who has defied conventional wisdom and taken big risks in new industries with entrenched powers, overthrowing the establishment in the music and mobile phone businesses and staking out new ground.”
The FT also gives these comparisons on Apple vs Microsoft: “Apple’s most recent full-year revenue was $36.5bn, close to double the level of three years before but shy of Microsoft’s $58bn. But Apple’s profit margins are wider. Its net income has nearly trebled in three years to $5.7bn, while Microsoft profit has only inched forward.”
I personally give Steve Jobs and his leadership team huge credit for creating a string of great products and great customer experiences. The Apple brand really means something to me: cool technology married with great design to create a really fun experience that’s also efficient and effective.
To the extent Apple is now seen as Number One, it will be fascinating to see how they respond to the new set of challenges that come with that status. Much as I like being an Apple customer, I find myself not wanting to be locked in to them. I want there to be alternatives. I like iTunes but I wish there were a close competitor. I love my iPhone but I am hoping that Android phones will be just as cool and have just as many or more apps available.
For Apple, the question could be, how to be a successful and profitable Number One without becoming so greedy and exclusionary as to provoke a backlash from customers. Microsoft has been facing the same challenges around earlier waves of technology (Office and Windows), and to me those challenges still look formidable.
Anwyay, congratulations, Steve. I think you deserve the recognition the markets have given you. Good luck with the next wave of growth and change.
Apple · customers · innovation · leadership · Microsoft · profit · value
