Apple is now bigger than Microsoft

digipeep · 27 May 2010 at 02:13

I'm shocked by this I thought M$crosoft was far larger revenue wise than Apple. It looks as though Gates has dropped the ball.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/10168684.stm

Maybe in 10 years time Microsoft will be as well known as Commodore and CP/M.

lord filbuster · 27 May 2010 at 02:18

This is based on share price, not revenue. I'd expect Microsoft's revenue is still much larger than apple. Still quite surprising though.

Captain_Slick · 27 May 2010 at 02:20

Meh. Just wait till Windows Phone 7 is released.

Not that market capitalisation means anything in the grand scheme of things. Exxonmobil are still a big evil oil company hated by millions.

arknor · 27 May 2010 at 02:25

lord filbuster said:
This is based on share price, not revenue. I'd expect Microsoft's revenue is still much larger than apple. Still quite surprising though.

Microsoft announced fiscal 2010 third quarter results: $14.5 billion revenue, $5.17 billion operating income and $4.01 billion net income, or 45 cents a share. On Tuesday, Apple announced fiscal 2010 second quarter results: $13.5 billion revenue and net profit of $3.07 billion, or $3.33 a share. Apple revenue is $1 billion behind Microsoft, while net income trails by a little less -- about $940 million.

probably wont be long until people get sick of all this iCRAP, most people i know sold their iphones and bought blackberrys.

ipods might still be popular but they are crap compared to some of the competition and the ipad is a novelty that wears off fast.

microsoft on the other hand have a nice monopoly that should last them a very long time, i know who i would rather have shares in

ac1d1ty · 27 May 2010 at 02:27

$1 billion isn't really that much :eek:

Captain_Slick · 27 May 2010 at 02:29

There's also the slight fact that the places their profits come from are very very different. If Microsoft was as successful in entertainment devices (MP3/iPhone/iPad/etc) as Apple, their market capitalisation would be leaps and bounds above Apple still. So Apple are catching Microsoft up, but on different playing fields.

arknor · 27 May 2010 at 02:29

ac1d1ty said:
$1 billion isn't really that much

majority of it is probably iphones and ipads though something which seem to have lost a lot of novelty value even amongst hardcore iDIOTS

Captain_Slick · 27 May 2010 at 02:30

arknor said:
majority of it is probably iphones and ipads though something which seem to have lost a lot of novelty value even amongst hardcore iDIOTS

This.

Microsoft's profits come from licensing, largely. Apple's come from generally one off purchases. You can see which is the better business model.

digipeep · 27 May 2010 at 02:30

The point is Apple was a pebble in the Ocean 10 years ago, Microsoft was the Ocean.

I think Microsoft hasn't a clue what it is going to do next, while Apple is steaming ahead. Bill Gates Billions will be worthless in 20 years time, no wonder he is trying to give it away through his projects.

The guy got lucky, and there are far too many smarter people in the IT industry nowadays.

Captain_Slick · 27 May 2010 at 02:34

digipeep said:
The point is Apple was a pebble in the Ocean 10 years ago, Microsoft was the Ocean.

That's missing the point, actually.

What happens when Apple has sold an iPhone/iPad/iPod to everyone that'll buy one? Their profits crash and Microsoft maintains it's steady income regardless. Apple are betting that they'll be able to milk the 'i' strategy forever but it won't work. They actually need to invest in OS X licensing more than anything.

That's why market cap is meaningless.

arknor · 27 May 2010 at 02:34

digipeep said:
The point is Apple was a pebble in the Ocean 10 years ago, Microsoft was the Ocean.

I think Microsoft hasn't a clue what it is going to do next, while Apple is steaming ahead. Bill Gates Billions will be worthless in 20 years time, no wonder he is trying to give it away through his projects.

The guy got lucky, and there are far too many smarter people in the IT industry nowadays.

a year ago it was

Apple revenue trailed Microsoft by $4.57 billion

i bet next year the gap will have grown from 1billion i think apple have exploited people with the ipad and iphone already and its a market they cant be exploited year after year, unlike microsoft who can exploit there market pretty much forever

all fads die out

lord filbuster · 27 May 2010 at 02:35

digipeep said:
The point is Apple was a pebble in the Ocean 10 years ago, Microsoft was the Ocean.

I think Microsoft hasn't a clue what it is going to do next, while Apple is steaming ahead. Bill Gates Billions will be worthless in 20 years time, no wonder he is trying to give it away through his projects.

The guy got lucky, and there are far too many smarter people in the IT industry nowadays.

digipeep · 27 May 2010 at 02:39

Captain_Slick said:
That's missing the point, actually.

When you are in the business of making money, growth is everything. Microsoft have absolutely no prospect of growth, their business model still relies on a bit of software that their founder wrote in the early 80s. Windows 7 still has DOS in it's core operating system. They just can't shake it out of their system.

arknor · 27 May 2010 at 02:39

lord filbuster said:

maybe he thinks the usd will be worthless otherwise i think those billions will still be worth a lot

Microsoft have absolutely no prospect of growth

EH? their target market has grown rapidly since the 90s, almost everyone has a pc these days and guess what os they are running.

as the population increases so does their market , as countries like india and china catch up with the rest of the western world microsofts target market becomes a few billion more computers.

dont be silly now

Captain_Slick · 27 May 2010 at 02:43

digipeep said:
When you are in the business of making money, growth is everything. Microsoft have absolutely no prospect of growth, their business model still relies on a bit of software that their founder wrote in the early 80s. Windows 7 still has DOS in it's core operating system. They just can't shake it out of their system.

What?

OS X still has UNIX at it's core, which was originally developed in 1969. What's your point?

Microsoft actually have more prospect of growth than Apple. They have more opportunities to develop products and invest. Apple's opportunities for growth are extremely limited.

digipeep · 27 May 2010 at 02:45

arknor said:
maybe he thinks the usd will be worthless otherwise i think those billions will still be worth a lot

EH? their target market has grown rapidly since the 90s, almost everyone has a pc these days and guess what os they are running.

as the population increases so does their market , as countries like india and china catch up with the rest of the western world microsofts target market becomes a few billion more computers.

dont be silly now

China, India, any emerging economies. If you were a citizen of these countries what would you do, buy a Microsoft licensed OS or just download Linux for free off the net.

Captain_Slick · 27 May 2010 at 02:47

digipeep said:
China, India, any emerging economies. If you were a citizen of these countries what would you do, buy a Microsoft licensed OS or just download Linux for free off the net.

If I needed to run a certain piece of software (which many people do), they have no option but to buy a Microsoft licensed OS.

cheets64 · 27 May 2010 at 02:48

Apple sell overpriced hardware to companies and people, thats the big money maker, their products are good but are in still saturated market, MS make money from software and the Xbox franchise (not sure if its making a profit but it has a great base in terms of Xbox live and game sales)

Once an Iphone is sold its only going to make money off apps etc.

A PC always has money to be made for years depending on the user.

digipeep · 27 May 2010 at 02:49

Captain_Slick said:
What?

OS X still has UNIX at it's core, which was originally developed in 1969. What's your point?

Unix is a stable operating system, proven over time.

DOS code is still in Windows code which is why Vista was a disaster. Windows 7 is just a sticky plaster over Vista, the OS still is built on DOS written by Bill Gates as a teenager over 25 years ago. No company can survive when there is so much better competition nowadays.

Captain_Slick · 27 May 2010 at 02:51

digipeep said:
Unix is a stable operating system, proven over time.

DOS code is still in Windows code which is why Vista was a disaster. Windows 7 is just a sticky plaster over Vista, the OS still is built on DOS written by Bill Gates as a teenager over 25 years ago. No company can survive when there is so much better competition nowadays.

Have you used Windows 7? It's nothing like Vista, which for most people was just as good as XP or better anyway.

Do you have any idea of what you're talking about?