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The number of developers has continued to grow year over year. The majority of developers don't use pro machines. Why in the world do you need the power of a Mac Pro in order to write and test an app that runs on a phone with less power than even the lowest model Mac mini?

Not only that, but these day's one can use a Windows PC to create iOS and Mac apps...!
 
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Well, if Apple could create buying frenzy again for the MAC again like they did in the past it could possibly help. If I remember correctly from the last Earnings call IPhone, Wearables, and the services market is their largest driver in sales and revenue.

And yes I know MAC sales still grow year over year compared to all other retailers, but these are small single digit numbers. Lets fix the MAC lineup and get into the double digits growth.

Take a good look at those numbers in the first post......Apple would have to have quite a Mac buying frenzy to pass #3 on the list....they'd have to sell $13B (yes billions of dollars) per year more than they do now to pass #3.
 
Meh. None of the first three "create" anything. Not impressive.

I'd argue that Walmart, for all its ills, did really revolutionize the way retail depends on an electronically managed and highly flexible supply and inventory system to manage pricing/purchasing on a scale never seen before. They really are one of the most advanced companies in the world in that regard.
 
For years I said that Microsoft would remain on top as one as a "computer" was a glass screen, mouse and keyboard. I was right. Now a "computer" fits inside a phone. Apple will do well until phones are more of a commodity and people stop paying so much for them. It will happen. In 10 years people will think a $100 phone is expensive.

Apple needs to diversify its product line. This iPhone thing will not last forever.

I'd like see Apple innovate in the computer area again. The last impressive thing that did was put a good graphical interface on top of BSD Unix and call to "MacOS X". Oh wait, that was Next that did in the 1990's. Then Apple bought Next and got the OS. That was about 21 years ago
 
Apple dropped because in the last few years they have disappointed many customers with their products.

I am still holding out for a more improved laptop to replace my 6 year old Air. Apple has lagged in the notebook line IMHO.

Or... maybe instead of you being unhappy with your laptop search being the culprit, the nearly 40% jump in gas prices affecting hundreds of millions of people in the past year has pushed Exxon's wallet up?
 
For years I said that Microsoft would remain on top as one as a "computer" was a glass screen, mouse and keyboard. I was right. Now a "computer" fits inside a phone. Apple will do well until phones are more of a commodity and people stop paying so much for them. It will happen. In 10 years people will think a $100 phone is expensive.

Apple needs to diversify its product line. This iPhone thing will not last forever.

I'd like see Apple innovate in the computer area again. The last impressive thing that did was put a good graphical interface on top of BSD Unix and call to "MacOS X". Oh wait, that was Next that did in the 1990's. Then Apple bought Next and got the OS. That was about 21 years ago

With Smartphone's, Tablet's, small laptops of various sizes, multiple desktop PCs, Watches, AppleTV, Homepod, AirPods, Beats, Music and now original programming, I'm unsure why you'd accuse them of not being diverse. What else would you suggest? Some would even say that their issue is that they're too diverse and need to contract and concentrate on what they're good at...
 
The distance between #4 and #1 could be mostly made up by Apple just doubling their prices. And why would we care? What's important to us is Apple coming in first in such contests. Anyone actually having any price sensitivity could either be run off ("why are you here?") or put in their place by spinning payment plan numbers with ever-longer terms ("just $X more per month").

Double them prices! Double them prices!

Furthermore, if Apple would quadruple their prices, they could probably double the revenue of the current #1. That would not be just taking first place... but doubling the runner up. We could sooooo celebrate such a leap. How much better the world would be if 4X the money flowed to Apple! Our individual lives would be so much better if our favorite corporation was that much richer.

Quadruple them prices! Quadruple them prices!

In either case, since unit costs would remain about the same, all of that doubled or quadrupled revenue would be added profit too... significantly strengthening our old standby of "...but who makes the most profitable _________".

All ;) (hopefully)
Thanks !
You made me realize the overpaid staff is actually underpaid and should be adequately rewarded in order to get the top spot again. Wicked PR wins...spend on it (and on glass phones) instead of innovating
 
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Apple dropped because in the last few years they have disappointed many customers with their products.

I am still holding out for a more improved laptop to replace my 6 year old Air. Apple has lagged in the notebook line IMHO.
Of course Apple drops. It still sells 2014 Mac minis. Any questions?
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...l-fortune-500-rankings.2119577/#post-26074036

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...une-500-rankings.2119577/page-2#post-26074101
 
Exxon is going to take a huge hit in the next few years. Electric is the future.

We will be reliant on fossil fuels for a while, but our reliance is about to drop significantly and so will their spot on his list. Soon it won’t matter what the price of oil is going for.

In the next few years their profits are going to go stratospheric. The oil supply glut with low prices meant all the oil companies cut their exploration spending. I work in the contractor sector and it's hit everyone hard. So no new oil has been found for a few years now and when the supply tightens, it's going to do it dramatically and the oil price is going to spike.
In the long term, though, I agree with you. Just not in the next few years.
 
Crazy how much money people spend at Walmart. Amazon should open some physical stores, directly across the street from Walmart's most popular locations; just for sh--s and giggles.
 
Why is revenue used instead of profit for these rankings?

Because it is easier for lazy analysts to write stories about revenue rankings than digging in to determine the true health, profitability, and growth potential of a company.
 
Why is revenue used instead of profit for these rankings?

Nothing more than bragging rights. Wall Street has metrics for everything to be able to push or trash any stock they choose. In this particular report as it applies to Apple a proper comparison would be to ask where Google, Samsung, Microsoft, and other tech companies are on the list. Amazon is #8.

Of course revenue is a meaningless metric unless you compare it to profit and that’s where Apple leads the pack.
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Apple dropped because in the last few years they have disappointed many customers with their products.

I am still holding out for a more improved laptop to replace my 6 year old Air. Apple has lagged in the notebook line IMHO.

No. Apple dropped because the price of oil suddenly skyrocketed and Exxon was pushed above Apple. Take off your horse blinders and think rationally.

And for all the AT&T haters here, where’s Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, etc.? See, you can use this metric to prove anything you want.
 
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Crazy how much money people spend at Walmart. Amazon should open some physical stores, directly across the street from Walmart's most popular locations; just for sh--s and giggles.
Why would they do that. People already use Walmart, Target, Best Buy, and the rest as a place to look at items that they'll eventually buy on Amazon. Building Amazon stores for non-perishables is just throwing money away.

Although, I could see them putting up a few "showrooms" in order to get some sort of tax break from wherever they end up putting their HQ at.
 
Meh. None of the first three "create" anything. Not impressive.

Huh? XOM produces oil and gas. That's one of the more difficult, expensive endeavors that one can pursue. From a floating platform, held to within a few feet (likely less) of centered over the bore, drilling through a pipe five miles long to the ocean floor, and another 1-3 miles below that to reach the oil, bring it to the surface, and then send it off for refining, all for about a 10% profit margin.

But they don't create anything? Wow.
 
Apple 'dropped'? You sure? Odd how you'd think that because it pretty obvious that the inverse is true. They're at 4th not because they've 'dropped' but because the other three have higher revenue figures. Next time look deeper into the facts before posting.

You must have forgotten I assume where Apple confirmed they had a record first Q1 just a few weeks ago.

Apple's global revenue from 1st quarter 2005 to 2nd quarter 2018 (in billion U.S. dollars)

View attachment 762417

There laptops are doing much better I don't believe anyone can question that. As for their reliability now? Not so much unfortunately...
 
Because it is easier for lazy analysts to write stories about revenue rankings than digging in to determine the true health, profitability, and growth potential of a company.

Analysts actually do research all of the growth and profitability issues you mention. Fortune is not analyzing anything in creating this listing. It is a meaningless exercise that they've been doing annually for decades for the magazine. No significance should be assigned to at all.
 
Revenue has been, is, and will continue to be the primary focus of the F500. Revenue is the larger number, and larger numbers are better for driving the type of interest they're looking for at Forbes. Generally speaking, 500-245-240-230 are more impressive numbers than 50-45-20-10. Eyes tend to gravitate to the former rather than the latter.

They also list companies by revenue, biggest employers, newcomers, biggest jumps, and a whole host of other filtering capabilities.
If this list was just about big numbers then the ranking would be based off of market cap. Look at Amazon, only $3B in profits but does anyone think Amazon is going out of business anytime soon?
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Of course revenue is a meaningless metric unless you compare it to profit and that’s where Apple leads the pack.
So that’s why Amazon is the second most valuable publicly traded company. Let me guess if Exxon or someone else leads the pack with profits then it won’t be the most important metric anymore.
 
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