10 years at Apple on the charts

Ten years ago, Tim Cook was named CEO of Apple.

He had a tough job. His predecessor Steve Jobs founded the company and returned from exile to bring Apple back to the brink of death and launch the products that define Apple as a modern computer system: the iMac, the iPod, the ‘iPhone and iPad.

But Cook says Jobs told him to be his own leader and never ask him “what would Steve do?” He took that advice, building a rigorous operational approach and making Apple the world’s most valuable listed company.

Under Cook, Apple propped up the iPhone business and bolstered it with a constellation of new products that attract new customers and consolidate current customers in Apple’s world. Since 2011, the company has launched several new products, including the Apple Watch and AirPods.

Cook’s Apple is significantly bigger than when it took over, and it also faces new challenges, from navigating politics around the world to the perennial question of what its next big product is.

Ultimately, Apple’s board is pleased with Cook and his performance. In September, Apple’s board of directors awarded Cook shares and performance-based awards that could give it more than a million shares of Apple by 2026, its first share grant since it took over. the charge.

Here’s Cook’s 10-year newsletter.

Cook had been the acting CEO before he officially took office, but the difference between the quarter before Cook took office and today’s sales underscores the greater amount Apple has achieved.

In the third fiscal quarter of 2011, Apple reported revenue of $ 28.57 billion. This year, in the same quarter and in the most recent quarter, figures are available, Apple recorded sales of $ 81.4 billion, almost triple.

Apple’s iPhone alone accounted for nearly $ 39.6 billion in the last quarter, surpassing the company’s full sales when Cook took over.

Investors would be happy if they buy Apple on the first day of Cook. A $ 1,000 investment in Apple shares on August 24, 2011 would be worth more than $ 16,866 as of Monday, an annual rate of return in excess of 32% if all dividends were reinvested. The S&P 500 returned just over 16% annually during the same period.

Apple has worked to reduce the stock count through stock repurchase. Luca Maestri, chief financial officer of Apple, said in July that the company has spent more than $ 450 billion on repurchases and dividends since it began its capital return program in 2012.

In 2011, Apple had 929,409,000 shares outstanding. In October it had 17,001,802,000 shares outstanding, but that was after a 4-1 stock split in 2020 and a 7-1 stock split in 2014. In October, Apple had the equivalent of 607,207,214 shares in 2011, or a 35% decrease since Cook took over.

Apple is the most valuable listed company, worth more than $ 2.4 trillion, and it eliminates other giants like Microsoft and Amazon.

One thing that is pushing Apple’s market cap is the company’s new focus on its service business. The catch-all category includes software subscriptions like iCloud and Apple Music, downloads from the App Store and some of the transactions that users make to the apps they download, AppleCare guarantees, Google money to make from their engine to Find the Default Value of the iPhone and Cuts Your Apple Pay Service Apple began to draw attention to the previously dormant category in 2015 as the growth of the iPhone slowed.

Apple has begun launching new products to bolster its recurring billing services, including Apple News +, a digital magazine package, and Apple TV +, a competitor to Netflix. It also groups its services into a subscription called Apple One. More recently, privacy features have begun to be added to paid iCloud accounts.

The growth of Apple’s services business, which went from $ 2.955 billion in 2011 to $ 53.777 billion in 2020, has given investors confidence that it can find new revenue streams even when sales of the iPhone is slow.

Jobs was known as the product-focused CEO who was involved in the development of new devices from its conception until they were on store shelves.

Cook is not as product-focused as its predecessor, but its Apple has managed to launch several successful new products.

In 2015, Apple launched Apple Watch, a companion to the iPhone that tracked heart rate, displayed notifications, and worked with a variety of compatible watches from fashion brands like Hermes.

Although Apple has never released unit sales numbers or even direct revenue from the watch, according to an estimate by Counterpoint Research, Apple shipped 33.9 million watches in 2020, far surpassing Huawei, the second largest company, which it only sent 11 million smart watches.

Apple also launched AirPods in 2016. Similarly, Apple has never announced financial results for the AirPods, but the company’s wireless headphones accounted for just under half of wireless headset sales in 2020, according to Strategy Analytics.

In 2011, Apple’s “other” category, then called “peripherals and other hardware,” reported sales of $ 2.3 billion. In 2020, after being bolstered by the launch of Apple Watch and AirPods, it had more than $ 30.6 billion in revenue and the nickname Wearables, Home and Accessories.

Apple’s main product remains the iPhone, which accounted for 47% of the company’s sales in the most recent quarter. But under Cook’s watch, the iPhone has improved on a rigorous annual launch schedule. When Cook took over, the most advanced iPhone was the iPhone 4, with a 5-megapixel camera and a 3.5-inch screen. Modern iPhone 12 devices can include up to three cameras, 6.7-inch screens, and an Apple-designed processor that rivals the fastest computer chips.

Prices have also risen: the iPhone 4 cost $ 599 for an entry-level model ($ 199 with a carrier contract). Today, Pro models start at $ 999.

A month after Cook took over, Apple had 60,400 full-time employees. It now has 147,000 full-time employees in countries around the world, according to a dossier filed last fall.

Apple’s global operations will create new challenges for the company. Cook personally navigated a relationship with former President Donald Trump, as the United States applied tariffs on parts and products that Apple imports. It also faces pressure from China and other governments about the apps it has in its store and how it operates its cloud services.

In the United States, Apple has been joined by other dominant technology companies because it had too much power. In the case of Apple, regulators and critics have focused on the App Store, the only way consumers can install software on an iPhone. Critics say it has arbitrary rules and denounce Apple’s cut of 30% of most purchases, which they say is too much.

Later this year, a judge in Oakland, California, will decide whether Apple is violating antioxidant laws, motivated by a lawsuit from Fortnite maker Epic Games. Cook testified in court for the first time as CEO during that trial. Apple is also facing legislation currently being debated in Congress that would force the company to change the way it manages its software stores. Apple has denied that it has a monopoly on its app store.

Apple also gets questions about what its next big product might be. Much has been invested in researching autopilot electric cars, but the launch date is likely to be years away. It works in the healthcare world to allow users to store medical records and communicate with their doctors, but Apple has not released any medical hardware other than its Apple Watch. Apple is also working on virtual reality and augmented reality headphones, but they would represent a great new category that consumers have yet to understand.

What happens next at Apple, Cook remains a firm hand at the helm.