In 2018, Apple became the first publicly traded corporation to be valued at $1 trillion in market cap value.
Two years later, the company’s value doubled to $2 trillion. Apple is one of the most valuable companies in the world, going so far as to be ranked first on Forbes’ list of the most valuable brands.
A Look Into Apple
Despite its many astounding accomplishments, Apple continues to produce innovative products and services. The company recently released the iPhone 14 smartphone in September 2022.
Besides smartphones, Apple sells a range of other products and services, with the most renowned ones being personal computers, wearables, accessories, software applications, and operating systems.
The Founding of Apple
Apple has been at the forefront of the personal computer revolution since its founding. Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne started this company in 1976 to change people’s perceptions of computers.
They aspired to make computers small and user-friendly for customers to use at home or the office.
However, Ronald Wayne left Apple two weeks after founding Apple. Being the older one, he worried that any debts accrued by the company would end up being his responsibility.
Wayne sold his 10% stake for $800, which would be worth more than $70 billion today.
The two remaining founders chose Job’s home garage as Apple’s first operations base, where Steve Wozniak began working on the company’s first computer, Apple I.
Wozniak had initially designed Apple I while working as an engineering intern at The Hewlett- Packard Company (famously known as HP). HP expressed no interest in his computer.
Apple I, Apple II, and Macintosh
Apple launched its first computer, Apple I, in July of 1976, retailing at $666.66. The computer consisted of only an assembled working circuit board with no casing, mouse, or keyboard.
Apple sold approximately 200 units of Apple I and began working on Apple II.
Steve Jobs needed money to expand the company and work on Apple II. He submitted the company’s plans to banks, but all were reluctant to invest in his business.
They viewed his idea to make computers for ordinary people as absurd. Steve Jobs also got rejected by Don Valentine, the founder of Sequoia Capital, but Don recommended him to Mike Markkula.
Mike Markkula invested $92,000 for a one-third stake in Apple, thus becoming the company’s angel investor.
With the help of Mike Markkula, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak incorporated Apple on January 1977. Jobs and Wozniak had initially established the entity as a partnership. Markkula later recruited Michael Scott to be Apple’s president and CEO. He considered the two founders lacked experience for a CEO position.
After incorporation, Steve Wozniak began working on the prototype for Apple II.
Jobs wanted this model to be fully-assembled and ready to run once removed from the box. The computer had a built-in keyboard, beautiful plastic casing, and colored graphics.
Apple II also contained VisiCalc, the company’s first spreadsheet and calculating software for business functions. The color graphics and VisiCalc software helped propel the sales of Apple II.
Apple moved to its first real office in 1978. By this time, sales had propelled to $775,000.
Apple II continued growing in popularity. In 1980, Apple reported revenues amounting to $118 million. Apple released Apple III in 1980, but this model, which contained a design flaw and overheated quickly, faced stiff competition from IBM computers.
Apple later released the Apple Lisa computer and the Macintosh, which became a success in 1984. Jobs had initially been tasked to head the Lisa project but was later transferred to the less exciting Macintosh project.
The success of the Macintosh is due to Apple’s 1984 commercial that aired during the Super Bowl. More than 70,000 units got sold after this commercial.
Steve Jobs resigned in 1985 after growing friction with Apple’s new CEO, John Sculley. Jobs preferred working his own way, while Sculley wanted the company to abide by structure and strict oversight on future projects.
Jobs staged a coup to oust Sculley, but it backfired when the board sided with Sculley. By this time, Steve Wozniak had already resigned because he felt the company was moving in a different direction.
Apple After Steve Jobs’s Resignation
After Job’s resignation, Apple’s management was free to implement their own ideas. They decided to target high-end customers by pricing the Macs higher than competitors, a strategy that Jobs opposed.
The board agreed that it would be better to sell fewer units but make higher profits from each sale. They named this policy “55 or die,” meaning the company should make at least 55% profit from each machine.
The strategy worked well initially, considering Apple’s computers had a better user interface. However, revenue began to topple in the 1990s after IBM produced cheaper personal computers.
Apple also needed better software to compete with Microsoft’s Windows 3.0. The company acquired NeXt, a software company Jobs started after resigning, which marked his return to Apple.
Steve Jobs Returns to Apple
Jobs became interim CEO a few weeks after returning to Apple. He enjoyed calling his position iCEO. His first strategic move was to partner with Microsoft to create a Mac version of the Microsoft Office Software.
Apple also launched the online Apple store in 1997, the iMac in 1998, and the iPod in 2001. The iMac was an all-in-one computer with a sleek design and advanced technological features. Apple sold 80,000 iMacs in the first five months.
In 2001, Apple launched Mac OS X to replace the System 7 operating system the company had used since the 1990s. The same year, the company also released the iPod, a portable MP3 player.
The iPod quickly became a market leader, selling around 450 million units during its lifespan. Apple launched iTunes, computer software for downloading and playing music, in 2003. iTunes also became a market leader in the music retail industry by 2005.
The next most resounding launch was the iPhone, which Apple announced during the 2007 Macworld Expo.
Here, Jobs mentioned that Apple Computer Inc. would change its name to Apple Inc. since the company didn’t just sell computers.
Apple sold 270,000 iPhones within two days of the announcement. In 2008, Apple released the App Store for the iPhone and iPod Touch, and opened it for third-party applications. It sold more than 60 million applications in only a month.
Steve Jobs stepped down as Apple’s CEO on August 24th, 2011, due to ongoing health concerns and passed away on October 5th, 2011. Tim Cook became Apple’s new CEO.
Interesting Facts
- Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak named their company Apple because Jobs liked apples. Jobs found the name fun, spirited, and non-intimidating. The two founders tried to think of a more technical name but couldn’t, so they settled for Apple.
- Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak sold Apple I for $666.66 per piece because Wozniak loved repeated numbers. During an interview, Wozniak admitted he didn’t know this number represented the mark of the beast.
- Apple’s first logo was designed by Ronald Wayne before he left the company. It featured Isaac Newton sitting under an apple tree. Jobs thought this logo was old-fashioned and too detailed to fit on a small gadget, so he hired Rob Janoff to design another one. Janoff came up with the bitten apple logo.
- Apple’s 1984 commercial is considered one of the best adverts of all time.
Apple Company Timeline
Apple Company Timeline1976
Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne start Apple.
1977
Apple gets incorporated as Apple Computer Inc. after Mike Markkula joins the company.
1983
Steve Wozniak resigns from Apple.
1984
Apple launches Apple Lisa Computer and the Macintosh.
1985
Steve Jobs resigns from Apple after losing favor with the board.
1997
Steve Jobs returns to Apple after the company acquires his software company NeXt. He becomes interim CEO.
1998
Apple launches the iMac.
2001
Apple releases Mac OS X and the iPod.
2003
Apple introduces iTunes.
2007
Apple launches iPhone and Apple TV. Apple also changes its official name from Apple Computer Inc. to Apple Inc.
2010
Apple introduces the iPad.
2011
Steve Jobs steps down as CEO, and Tim Cook becomes CEO.
2014
Apple unveils iPhone 6 and Apple Watch.
2018
Apple becomes the first publicly traded company to get valued at $1 trillion in market cap value.