Why Apple is now worth four Dells

[MacBytes]

Category: Apple Hardware
Link: Why Apple is now worth four Dells
Description:: none

Posted on MacBytes.com
Approved by Mudbug

[OzExige]

Why wouldn't it be?
Besides Michael Dell is a ding-a-ling, hehe
Even though Michael's worth is 4 times that of Steve's it's only because Steve only gets $1.00 per week! so there

As far as making 15% Profit, WOW!
We manufacture industrial equipment in-house and 15% profit is amazing.

[QuarterSwede]

Originally Posted by OzExige

Even though Michael's worth is 4 times that of Steve's it's only because Steve only gets $1.00 per week!

Actually, that would be $1 per year.

This pretty much sums it up:

In other words, Dell sells a lot more machines, but Apple makes way more profit on each machine it sells.

[nigrunze]

Originally Posted by OzExige

Steve only gets $1.00 per week!

Actually, I think he makes less than that. $1.00 per year.

EDIT:

Originally Posted by QuarterSwede

Actually, that would be $1 per year.

Beat me to it.

[OzExige]

Originally Posted by QuarterSwede

Actually, that would be $1 per year.

I stand corrected, thanks

[mac 2005]

The interesting point: Dell's market cap is slightly more than half of what it was just two years ago. Sounds like Dell's arrogance has come back to haunt him in a big way.

[ricardo1064]

Originally Posted by mac 2005

The interesting point: Dell's market cap is slightly more than half of what it was just two years ago. Sounds like Dell's arrogance has come back to haunt him in a big way.

Dell's largest problem has always been his laptop division, it comes back to haunt it time and time again. I read an interesting article a while a go regarding Dell's lack of initial investment/research into laptops in general. Funny thing is they related it to Dell quitting college.

Actually made me laugh, I can go on about education for hours, day even... but reality is he lacks insight, not vision. Dell's desktops are what keeps that company running daily.

[danredwing]

I have spent considerable time on both PCs and Macs both in a work and home environment and what I’ve found is that I prefer the Mac for this one reason:

Every mac that I’ve ever used just does what it is supposed to do without requiring me to be an expert in hardware, software, networking or anything else.

I’m in Finance, have spent considerable time recording and producing pro audio, graphic arts, and the standard stuff that the majority of people do..ie, email, word processing, web browsing.

Every PC except the insanely locked-down Networked machine that I use at work requires me to update software weekly and sometimes daily, fiddle with registries, look for and then download drivers, watch for viruses (or upload updates most weeks on my anti virus software) and wait forever for most applications to start.

My mac however is simply plug in and go. Most applications are simply intuitive and the machine just connects with pretty much anything that you plug in instantly. It is also two years old and runs the latest OS with no problems. I've also never had any issues with viruses or spyware on an mac that I've owned or used.

I’m not ashamed to say that I view myself with my computer the same way I do with my car…An end user. I don’t want to work on my car or have someone else work on it often, I just want it to perform well all the time. Consequently, I drive a Japanese car that does great with basic regular oil changes and checkups. I’ve been thru the experience of owning cars that required constant maintenance and fiddling and I frankly don’t have the desire or the time. On top of that, it performs exceptionally, is more efficient and will run better for longer than many other choices out there without needing a new transmission, engine or major rebuild before it is time to retire. You just can't say that about most American built vehicles. I feel exactly the same way about computers.

I think that a lot of people feel the same way and are making the switch to Apple because they are tired of the hassle of a computer that only functions well with constant maintenance, tweaks and mandatory upgrades and has a short lifespan if you aren't a PC building hobbyist.

Dan

[mainstreetmark]

Originally Posted by nigrunze

Actually, I think he makes less than that. $1.00 per year.

That's true. He probably only takes home 65 cents. Taxes, you know. These roads ain't free!

[AlmostThere]

Originally Posted by mainstreetmark

That's true. He probably only takes home 65 cents. Taxes, you know. These roads ain't free!

He is probably only on that salary to claim housing subsidies, energy assistance and a whole host of other state benefits

[Analog Kid]

Some of it is margins, some of it is iPod, but I think a lot of it is potential for growth-- Dell can't grow any more quickly than the PC market in general, whereas Apple has much more space to grow within (as we've been seeing).

[BongoBanger]

Originally Posted by Analog Kid

Some of it is margins, some of it is iPod, but I think a lot of it is potential for growth-- Dell can't grow any more quickly than the PC market in general, whereas Apple has much more space to grow within (as we've been seeing).

True. Apple's market cap is pretty much linked to its perceived ability to grow. If Apple doesn't continue to make good growth it'll fall back quite heavily.

[BenRoethig]

Originally Posted by AlmostThere

He is probably only on that salary to claim housing subsidies, energy assistance and a whole host of other state benefits

Or so he doesn't have to pay as much on taxes on what he does get.

[ricardo1064]

Originally Posted by BenRoethig

Or so he doesn't have to pay as much on taxes on what he does get.

or he probably gets stock option and bonuses more than likely... Any good CEO now a days won't rape his company for funds, they'll rape their stock...

[pacohaas]

With such high profit margins(compared to dell), it's hard to continue arguing with my friends that Macs aren't more expensive than PCs anymore since the Intel switch. They now have new ammunition when I explain that a comparable PC costs just as much as a mac laptop. Seriously, lower that margin to 10% apple, be nice!

[mainstreetmark]

Originally Posted by pacohaas

With such high profit margins(compared to dell), it's hard to continue arguing with my friends that Macs aren't more expensive than PCs anymore since the Intel switch. They now have new ammunition when I explain that a comparable PC costs just as much as a mac laptop. Seriously, lower that margin to 10% apple, be nice!

It's precisely that margin which has made Apple worth 4x more than Dell. That margin pays for the R&D of future products, such as iPod, iPhone, Apple TV, iTMS, etc, etc. These are all new products with zero revenue when they are being designed. Independent of those new products, the margin also goes into (re)engineering existing products. The PowerBook, for example, had everything a desktop does, came with a 17" and was an inch thick -- no other manufacturer could do that. Also, Apple laptops often contain "firsts", such as slot-loading optical disks, or multi-touch trackpads (or trackpads vs trackballs, actually!).

Dell, scraping by on it's narrow margin, has granted enough research budget to allow it's customers to choose colors or something. Dell is famous for non-innovation.

You get what you pay for. If your friends want to save $150 on a computer and feel good about themselves -- let them. I'll spend the extra money and get a computer and OS I don't have to constantly worry about or suffer with. In fact, invite them to stay on the PC side of the fence. Apple doesn't *need* more marketshare.

[IJ Reilly]

Nice article in some ways, but it misses what I think is the primary reason why Apple is now worth four Dells, which is that Apple has been far more successful than Dell in branching out from its core PC business into other consumer products. This is even before you get to the fact that Apple's Mac market share is growing rapidly and Dell's is not.

[gkarris]

Oh, I see, stocks.

I thought it meant the company as a whole. I was going to say BAD analogy, because:

4 x 0 = 0

[Malfoy]

What's also interesting is assuming their fortunes are SOLELY tied to their respective company(for simplicity and fun sake), M. Dell would hold over 14x as much of Dell than Jobs holds of Apple. Obviously their fortunes aren't solely tied to their companies but a large percentage of it is. Just an interesting tidbit.