"The King of Technology " APPLE"

History of APPLE

Apple Inc. is an American corporation that designs and manufactures computer hardware, software and other consumer electronics. The company is best known for their Macintosh personal computer line, Mac OS X, extremely loyal user-base, iTunes media application and the iPod personal music player. The company headquarters is in Cupertino, California, CEO and co-founder is Steve Jobs and the company boasts 284 retail locations spanning 10 different countries.

      Apple was established on April 1^st, 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne to sell the Apple I personal computer kit. Steve Jobs was said to own 45% of the company, Steve Wozniak with 45% and Wayne with the remaining 10%. While Jobs and Wozniak were young with little to no assets, Ronald Wayne was older with personal assets and was scared to put these at risk. This resulted in Wayne selling his share of the company back to Jobs and Wozniak for a reported 800$. Today Wayne’s share of the company would be worth over 3 billion dollars.

Apple has developed a unique reputation in the consumer electronics field. Those who use Apple electronics tend to be enthusiastic about and loyal to the products while those who have no experience with Apple’s products often criticize them as being overpriced.

Perhaps the single most important PR decision made by Apple to date was the production and release of their “1984" commercial. This commercial was directed by Ridley Scott and aired during the third quarter of Super Bowl XVIII. The commercial was modeled after George Orwell’s novel 1984 which depicted a dystopian future where “Big Brother" told people what to think and as a result people, in general, had very little freedom of choice. Some say “Big Brother", at the time, was meant to represent IBM while the female heroine was Apple. Today many would say that “Big Brother" was Microsoft with the heroine still being Apple, giving freedom of choice back to the people. Regardless of your interpretation of the commercial or your views on Apple as a company there is no denying that the commercial was a major event in the history of Apple and brought some much needed notoriety to the Macintosh line of computers.

 With the release of the iMac on August 15, 1998 Apple was able to put to rest some its past failures. These failures included the first Apple Portable, which was bulky and awkward and the Newton, Apple’s first attempt to enter the PDA market. In 2001, after several years of development, Apple released Mac OS X, an operating system that targeted both consumers and professionals. Mac OS X was a complete redesign from Mac OS 9 and was able to harness the power of UNIX while offering a streamlined user experience with a simplified GUI (Graphical User Interface). The iMac line of personal computers paired with Mac OS X returned Apple to profitability and the release of the iPod portable digital audio player later that year was the icing on the cake. The phenomenal success of the iPod set the stage for future products, including the best selling mobile device in history, the Apple iPhone, the MacBook line of portable computers, and the Apple iPad announced on January 27, 2010.

 The best Product

Modern Apple Macs (Intel, 2006-Present)

MacBook	MacBook Air	MacBook Pro
iMac	iMac Pro	Mac Pro
Mac mini	Xserve

EveryMac.com also organizes specs on modern Macs By Year, Processor and Case Type and lists all of these Macs By Capability and Identifier. EveryMac.com has a complete listing of Global Original Prices for Intel Macs, too.

To lookup a specific Intel Mac by a precise identifier, please refer to EveryMac.com's Ultimate Mac Lookup. Current Macs also may be of interest.

Recent Apple Macs (PowerPC G3-G5, 1997-2005)

PowerBook G3	PowerBook G4	iBook
iMac	eMac	Mac mini
Power Mac G3	Power Mac G4	Power Mac G5
Mac Server G3	Mac Server G4	Xserve

EveryMac.com also categorizes specs on recent Macs By Year, Processor and Case Type and lists all of these systems By Capability and Identifier with the above Intel Macs.

To lookup any Mac in the above "recent" section by a precise identifier, see EveryMac.com's Ultimate Mac Lookup.

Vintage Apple Macs (68k-604e, 1984-1998)

Mac "Classic"	Macintosh II	Macintosh LC
Mac Centris	Mac Quadra	Mac Performa
Power Mac	Macintosh WGS	Network Server
20th Anniv. Mac	PowerBook	PowerBook Duo

Apple iPods, iPhones, iPads, TVs, Watches & Newtons (1993-Present)

MessagePad	eMate	iPod
iPhone	iPad	iPod touch
Apple TV	Apple Watch

         Video : History of Apple (1976 - 2016)

The Comparison Between Apple and Samsung

Is Apple Sliding in competition?

Apple has been synonymous with the word innovation but what is its future and, specifically, its struggles against a top tier competitor? How well does the future of Apple stack up to its rival, Samsung? After doing some in-depth comp analysis this past week, I believe Apple's share price is not fully justified relative to its financials. However, Samsung is better positioned for growth and has greater upside potential.

Apple's Intangible Assets Vs. Samsung's Unprecedented Rise

From creating and designing computers to delivering the iProducts, Apple has come a long way. It has placed itself in the most redefining moment of our generation; Apple is at the epicenter of the technological revolution era. The company has an intangible asset that puts it in the forefront of the minds of consumers and investors alike. But now, Apple faces its biggest threat as Samsung has slowly gained market share. In 2012, Samsung sold 63 million units of the Samsung Galaxy and made more money than Google makes from all its businesses.

Despite this, Samsung is still nowhere near Apple's ability to generate revenues. Apple has sold 5 million iPhone 5's in a weekend, and will probably continue to outsell Samsung's Galaxy phones for some time. However, it's not longer safe to say that Apple will forever remain the leader in the smartphone market.

Tim Cook as the Commander-in-Chief in a Stormy Tax Battle

Obviously, the tax debacle has been a hot topic and covered well through other articles. However, it can't be overstated just how important it has been for Apple. There had been a lot of speculation as to whether the newly appointed CEO, Tim Cook, could continue the legacy of Steve Jobs. Little by little, investors and hedge funds had been losing confidence in whether Apple was still capable of delivering the product designs that once made it the pinnacle of innovation. The legal proceedings of Apple against Samsung didn't help the company. But recently, Tim Cook was able to steer his company away from the issue of Apple taking advantage of tax law loopholes by successfully defending the company and pushing Congress to overhaul the tax code. The general consensus on Wall Street was that Cook looked like a capable leader that can, once again, instill confidence in investors - a much needed plus for Apple.

Key Financials Comparison

Year-on-year (as shown above), Apple has been able to grow its revenues from $108.2 billion USD to $156 billion. This nominal amount is an incredible increase; however, Samsung's revenue growth (shown below) is nothing to sneeze at.

Apple still beats Samsung's earnings growth (earnings-per-share shown below); however, earnings growth doesn't necessarily translate to share price growth. A look at the last year's performance of both stocks clearly details this: Samsung is up 10.5%, while Apple is down 26%. A recent poll of 42 analysts covering Samsung (as reported by the Financial Times) estimated an average 12-month share price growth forecast of 50.2%, with a high of 107.2% and a low of just -2.3%. Compare this to Apple's analyst forecast (as reported by CNN Money) of a median of 4.8%, with a high of 31.4% and low of -27.8%. 

Of course, analyst estimates must be taken with a huge grain of salt. However, analyst forecasts can tell us one important thing; specifically, a wide range between negative and positive outlooks tend to indicate future volatility. In which case, there is no comparison between the risk outlooks between these two stocks.

      One area, often overlooked, in which Apple has remain superior is the ability to control expenses. Apple was able to reduce the percentage of sales devoted to COGS from 59.52% to 56.13%; whereas Samsung has remained flat.

Ratios and Margin Comparison

      Apple's ROA and ROE are currently standing at 18.91% and 33.34%, respectively. Samsung posts slightly more modest numbers, at an ROA of 15.4% and a ROE of 20%. In both cases, the ratios are above industry averages, but what makes them more meaningful is that Apple's capital structure uses very little debt. This is an area that has been troubling Samsung's investors. Samsung's most recent debt-to-total capital ratio stands at 9.08%, a sharp increase from the previous year's 5.46%. However, in terms of operational efficiency, Apple is one of the industry's worst with their 19.32 days accounts receivables worth of sales outstanding. This is because of Apple's partnerships with different data service provider providing different and less strict payment and credit policies.

Samsung's Rise Is Not A Flash-in-the-Pan

     I believe Apple has been approaching fair value. Whether you are an Apple believer or not, it can't be disputed that the company posts incredible gains year-on-year, maintains a very healthy balance sheet (managing to grow their $145 billion USD cash pile) and produced $50 billion cash flow from operations last fiscal year 2012. It's not as if Apple is a sinking ship; rather, it's a function of whether this value is already priced into the stock. Samsung's rise will continue to hammer at Apple's price. Apple's limited number of new product initiatives (at least those mentioned to the public) aren't the game-changers of previous years. 

     So, how does an investor gain access to Samsung? The company is not listed on a U.S. exchange and does not have an ADR. You could buy OTC; however, fees may make this prohibitive. Rather, the most common option is to buy into a South Korean focused ETF or Fund. As Samsung is responsible for a fifth of its country's GDP, a broader fund will give the average individual investor plenty of exposure. For the foreseeable future, Samsung will continue to make its presence felt, which, by itself, is enough to keep me away from Apple.