Apple Tops Microsoft in Third Quarter Revenue

[RebootD]

microsoft? google is the enemy!

Spot on. The old 'Apple vs MS' is over and Microsoft won the desktop OS war. Apple's main source of revenue is the iOS platform which is directly competing with Google's Android.

So let's move the conversation to those two and it will be a real competition.

 

[Mattie Num Nums]

24,000 of Apple's are retail.

Apple also outsources and contracts a huge amount of employees.

 

[res1233]

microsoft? google is the enemy!

Seriously, Apple is on a good way and the old rivalry between Apple and Microsoft is now less important than the dominance on the mobile internet and media consumption market. I wouldn't be surprised to see an alliance between apple and microsoft soon.

also apple has not much left to grow into besides movies. the dominate the rest already or can't enter (like search engines). so the rumors about apple buying sony seem somehow plausible.

There has been an alliance between apple and microsoft pretty much since the day they began, think Office. Microsoft, before Windows, was a mac dev.

 

[Mattie Num Nums]

There has been an alliance between apple and microsoft pretty much since the day they began, think Office. Microsoft, before Windows, was a mac dev.

Don't even bother. People also make it out to be this huge war. Microsoft and Apple both leverage each other for sales. The whole MS vs Apple thing is far overblown these days.

 

[RebootD]

Also Microsoft doesn't sell computer hardware so shouldn't we only count Microsoft software revenue vs Apple software revenue?

*edit I don't mean accessories/xbox, but computers and notebooks.

 

[weespeed]

Do people even read the articles anymore???

For all those people that spout "Go Apple, DIE M$", how does MS making a billion, A BILLION more in profits than Apple translate to that??

 

[chugg]

There has been an alliance between apple and microsoft pretty much since the day they began, think Office. Microsoft, before Windows, was a mac dev.

The only people still spewing this non-sense about a MS vs. Apple war are clueless fanboys like LTD and BRLawyer. Good thing the rest of us know better. Even Steve himself said that Apple doesn't want to beat MS. Apple CAN'T beat MS. And it doesn't need to to be sucessful.

 

[Chase R]

So how much longer until Apple passes Exxon Mobile in market capitalization? That's what I'm waiting for!... Microsoft-Shmicrosoft

 

[NebulaClash]

Two errors in this post. First, Microsoft got more dough (profits) than Apple. Secondly, it is pointless to compare revenues for different types of business. The higher revenue for hardware manufacturer is expected. Apple pays Intel, Samsung and Foxconn $16B for chips, LCD panels and manufacturing. hen they add their software and sell the product for $20B. Microsoft on the other hand (exaggerating here) may simply sell their software for $5B and have $5B in revenues and $5 in profits. Notice how HP's annual revenue is way higher than Apple's: $123B vs $65B.

No errors in my post.

1. When I said "dough" at the end, I was talking revenue. Not clear from me, but not an error.

2. Of course you cannot compare revenue for different types of business, but what I was comparing was profit margins for both companies. Both make a lot of profit, but only one sells something tangible and gets called out for it. The other sells something that costs little except in salary costs, yet rakes in lots of profit without being condemned for being "overpriced."

 

[kernkraft]

At least revenue means something. Market capitalisation is such a tricky concept, especially here, when the stock price has risen from sub-100 to 300+ USD in no time.

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Quite telling. Apple's a fraction of MS' size, employs a smaller workforce, and has a smaller R&D budget. And look at what's happening. Pretty embarassing for Ballmer. But no surprise at all.

Wasn't Windows 7 supposed to kill the Mac? What happened there? Apple ended up selling *more* Macs, so much that they're now the third largest PC manufacturer.

The real conundrum is why Ballmer hast had his fat, non-performing ass fired yet.

1. Suddenly, you admit that MS is spending more on R&D than Apple? Would that mean that there's more innovation going on at MS? After all, the majority of their revenue comes from creating software, whereas Apple Inc's revenue is focused on producing computers and gadgets in China mostly from third-party components.

2. This is not a war and this represent well whatever is wrong with your attitude towards Apple Inc and the rest of the industry. These are companies that operate pretty similarly. There are lots of great people working for both and both companies have their strengths. No, Windows 7 was never supposed to 'kill' the Mac simply, because Windows has around 90% market share in the desktop OS market and if the Mac survived so far, it probably will in the future. With Windows 7 selling pretty well globally, MS doesn't have to worry much. Please, be more mature, these OS alternatives are not part of some subjective warfare either. I bet that you have been using Windows for most of your adult life and you are a fairly recent convert. Who knows, one day your opinionated attitude will find something wrong with Apple Inc and you'll do the same thing on the other side.

3. I wonder how much Apple made from selling office suits or OS, for example. Or even iLife... And how they they are doing with their challenger to Bing, which is a pretty good search engine. Sometimes I wish that Apple lost its exclusivity to the OS and it was legal and kosher to sell third party computers with OS X. Let's be honest - a considerable part of owning Apple computers is some obsession with the hardware and falling for a perceived image.

Balmer can hardly take credit for those billions. With him Microsoft soon will be a dead horse. Good thing though.

Brilliant, because what Steve Jobs needs is even more power and control over the market... and what we need is a massive dead horse with nobody pulling nine carts out of ten.

 

[tzeshan]

Microsoft is not Apple competitor

This is a myth prevalent in the Windows world that Apple competes with Microsoft. Many Windows users thought Microsoft is only available on PC. This is not true. Except for the Windows OS and the failed Zune player, Microsoft is not a real Apple competitor.

The real competitors for Apple are the hardware companies.

 

[apple1990]

It doesn't matter that MSFT are still making more income. Its the fact that Apple has sold more stuff than Microsoft for the first time in 15 years! This really just confirms the biggest business comeback in history.

Apple are also growing at a much, much faster rate than Microsoft so I'm sure that it won't be long until Apple's income overtakes MSFT. It may even be next quarter!

It will be interesting to see how much of MSFT's income ended up as cash.

 

[NinjaHERO]

Just amazing. No one would have believed this was going to happen 5 years ago.

 

[Chase R]

This is a myth prevalent in the Windows world that Apple competes with Microsoft. Many Windows users thought Microsoft is only available on PC. This is not true. Except for the Windows OS and the failed Zune player, Microsoft is not a real Apple competitor.

The real competitors for Apple are the hardware companies.

Wrong. Apple is so much more than a hardware company. Software IS what makes Apple Apple. OS X and W7 and very much competitors, therefore Apple and Microsoft are competitors.

 

[apple1990]

At least revenue means something. Market capitalisation is such a tricky concept, especially here, when the stock price has risen from sub-100 to 300+ USD in no time.





1. Suddenly, you admit that MS is spending more on R&D than Apple? Would that mean that there's more innovation going on at MS? After all, the majority of their revenue comes from creating software, whereas Apple Inc's revenue is focused on producing computers and gadgets in China mostly from third-party components.

2. This is not a war and this represent well whatever is wrong with your attitude towards Apple Inc and the rest of the industry. These are companies that operate pretty similarly. There are lots of great people working for both and both companies have their strengths. No, Windows 7 was never supposed to 'kill' the Mac simply, because Windows has around 90% market share in the desktop OS market and if the Mac survived so far, it probably will in the future. With Windows 7 selling pretty well globally, MS doesn't have to worry much. Please, be more mature, these OS alternatives are not part of some subjective warfare either. I bet that you have been using Windows for most of your adult life and you are a fairly recent convert. Who knows, one day your opinionated attitude will find something wrong with Apple Inc and you'll do the same thing on the other side.



Brilliant, because what Steve Jobs needs is even more power and control over the market... and what we need is a massive dead horse with nobody pulling nine carts out of ten.

Dell is spending more on R&D than Apple. R&D spend not = innovation.

 

[chugg]

Balmer can hardly take credit for those billions. With him Microsoft soon will be a dead horse. Good thing though.

Yeah, we all hope the millions of businesses using Microsoft products just collapse. I also hope you get a million dollar budget for office equipment at your firm so you can outfit it with iMacs and have real business-people snicker at you when your next presentation is done in iWork.

 

[apple1990]

Yeah, we all hope the millions of businesses using Microsoft products just collapse. I also hope you get a million dollar budget for office equipment at your firm so you can outfit it with iMacs and have real business-people snicker at you when your next presentation is done in iWork.

Keynote is much, much better than powerpoint fact

Word and Pages are equal

Excel is much, much better than excel. I got office for 47 quid and have iWork so best of both worlds.

Apple doesn't need to be in direct competition with Microsoft but they are still competitors as long as Apple are making Macs and Microsoft are making a consumer OS.

 

[tzeshan]

Wrong. Apple is so much more than a hardware company. Software IS what makes Apple Apple. OS X and W7 and very much competitors, therefore Apple and Microsoft are competitors.

I saw a PBS interview with Jobs before he returns to Apple. Jobs said Apple has lost the PC war. I believe Jobs ran Apple according to this guideline when he returns. Microsoft signed a contract investing in Apple. The Windows world was so joyful that Microsoft is controlling Apple then.

 

[gorjan]

Word and Pages are equal

Equal? Have you tried using Pages for anything other then home work and the "family newsletters" Apple is trying to convince us people are sending?

Sorry but for any serious scientific work Pages just doesn't cut it, it's a toy.

 

[AgingGeek]

BALLMER: Are you sure that's not a ROUNDING error?

 

[apple1990]

Equal? Have you tried using Pages for anything other then home work and the "family newsletters" Apple is trying to convince us people are sending?

Sorry but for any serious scientific work Pages just doesn't cut it, it's a toy.

Ok, but then pages is much better for the simpler work. For instance it doesn't take as long to be ready and use up as many resources.

Keynote is far superior to Powerpoint.

 

[max pl]

apple's 34300 vs microsoft's 89000 employees certainly makes a different in such reports.

actually apple has 46,600 employees and "The company has an additional 2,800 full-time equivalent temporary employees and contractors on its payroll"


source:https://www.macrumors.com/2010/10/2...ad-budget-increase-lower-gross-margins-ahead/

 

[apple1990]

Equal? Have you tried using Pages for anything other then home work and the "family newsletters" Apple is trying to convince us people are sending?

Sorry but for any serious scientific work Pages just doesn't cut it, it's a toy.

actually apple has 46,600 employees and "The company has an additional 2,800 full-time equivalent temporary employees and contractors on its payroll"


source:https://www.macrumors.com/2010/10/2...ad-budget-increase-lower-gross-margins-ahead/

So that makes Apple's revenue per employee around 1.5m compared to MSFT's 700,000.

 

[hacurio1]

At least revenue means something. Market capitalisation is such a tricky concept, especially here, when the stock price has risen from sub-100 to 300+ USD in no time.





1. Suddenly, you admit that MS is spending more on R&D than Apple? Would that mean that there's more innovation going on at MS? After all, the majority of their revenue comes from creating software, whereas Apple Inc's revenue is focused on producing computers and gadgets in China mostly from third-party components.

.

I just wanted to quickly comment on this one point. How much each company spends on R&D is irrelevant. From what I have read, there have been great innovations developed inside Microsoft’s walls. Furthermore, base on what they were not too long ago, I am sure some of the most brilliant minds on the Industry are employed by Microsoft. The problem is, those great innovations, projects, and ideas never made it to the market place.

We will never know what happened inside Redmond, and frankly I do not care, but from a customer’s perspective I can tell you Microsoft’s products lately have either been, too little too late, or simply dead on arrival. This to me reveals a deeper management problem that many analysts are seeing (not just me). It is not hard to find articles and studies lately that question Ballmer’s leadership.

 

[Chase R]

actually apple has 46,600 employees and "The company has an additional 2,800 full-time equivalent temporary employees and contractors on its payroll"


source:https://www.macrumors.com/2010/10/2...ad-budget-increase-lower-gross-margins-ahead/

So what you're saying is that Apple is still almost 100% more efficient than Microsoft?... considering Microsoft only does software (forget the Zune) and Apple does both... and they do it VERY well.