On October 6, 1997, in response to the question of what he’d do if he was in charge of Apple, Dell founder and CEO Michael Dell stood before a crowd of several thousand IT executives and answered flippantly, “What would I do? I’d shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders.”
A little more than a month later, on November 10, 1997, new Apple Interim CEO (iCEO) Steve Jobs responded, speaking in front of an image of Michael Dell’s bulls-eye covered face, “We’re coming after you, you’re in our sights.”
On January 13, 2006, after a little more than eight years of hard work, Apple Inc. passed Dell, Inc. in market value, $72.13 billion vs. $71.97 billion at market close, respectively.
• 2X: On July 27, 2007, Apple’s value doubled that of Dell’s, $127.81 billion vs. $63.65 billion, respectively.
• 3X: On December 6, 2007, Apple’s market value passed 3 times that of Dell’s, $165.66 billion vs. $54.42 billion, respectively.
• 4X: On May 01, 2008, Apple’s market value quadrupled that of Dell’s, $158.66 billion vs. $38.97 billion, respectively.
• 5X: On February 12, 2009, Apple rose $2.60 to hit a market value of $88.37 billion or 5 times that of Dell’s $17.52 billion.
• 6X: On October 20, 2009, Apple rose $11.21 to $201.07 to hit a market value of $180.12 billion or more than 6 times that of Dell’s $29.97 billion.
• 7X: On January 26, 2010, Apple gained $7.57 to $210.64 to hit a market value of $189.72 billion or more than 7 times that of Dell’s current $27.03 billion.
• 8X: On May 21, 2010, Apple gained $1.95 to $239.74 to hit a market value of $218.12 billion or more than 8 times that of Dell’s current $25.84 billion.
• 9X: On June 1, 2010, Apple gained $6.89 to $263.77 to hit a market value of $240.01 billion or more than 9 times that of Dell’s current $26.29 billion.
• 10X: On September 9, 2010, Apple gained $1.60 to $265.37 to hit a market value of $242.43 billion or more than 10 times that of Dell’s current $24.21 billion.
• 11X: On September 23, 2010, Apple rose $3.79, or 1.32% to $291.54 to hit a market value of $266.34 billion or more than 11 times that of Dell’s current $23.81 billion.
• 12X: Today, Apple rose $0.26, or 0.08% to $344.11 to hit a market value of $317.02 billion or more than 12 times that of Dell’s current $26.02 billion.
Apple is also a debt-free company and currently has significantly more cash and short-term investments on-hand ($57 billion) than Dell Inc. is worth (more than double, in fact).
Hello, Mikey? Miiiiikeeeeey?
See AAPL and DELL quotes via NASDAQ here.
Buy Dell, shut it down, and give the shareholders back their money.
Apple must be worth more than $12!
The shareholders of Dell should fire Mikey, sell the assets, and use the money to buy whatever amount of AAPL they can.
I thought it said that Dell is worth 12 times Apple’s worth.
I must have the same problem as Mikey.
Shut it down …
Why didn’t any libs freak out over the bulls-eye thing?
As we can see, most of Mikey’s decisions managing Dell have been as spot on as his decision on Apple.
Unfortunately, where I work, the whole “process” thing is being terribly over-emphasized, just like Dell. We are compelled to get cost out, with little emphasis on how to add value.
It’s a lot easier to try to get cost out, as it takes a real innovative and passionate and generally deep thinker to truly develop strategies and products that add value.
Unfortunately our MBA programs are pretty much like Dell focused on cost side.
We want a quote from Mikey!! Why isn’t somebody hunting him down to get a quote?
Apple’s revenue last quarter was greater than Dell’s market cap.
By the end of September, Apple will most likely have generated more cash in this financial year alone than Dell is currently worth.
Ol’ Swine Eyes.
I never get tired of these posts
Every increase in the Dell vs Apple value multiple causes Mikes eyes to come together by another 1mm. Soon it’ll be cyclops stage. It won’t then be long before his left and right become switched and totally and irreversibly crossed.
Loser x 12.
Wow. Just wow. Apple can buy Dell two times over … with pocket change.
MDN Magic Word: served
priceless!
I love that picture – looks like he just found out his wife bought a MacBook Air…
This never gets old!
He looks more goofey than that dumbass Pelosi.
Can’t wait to see x13!!!
I’d bet money that Steve Jobs or Tim Cook wouldn’t even take a phone call from Michael Dell today. Dell the company and Dell the man are irrelevant. As the article mentions Apple has more cash on hand than Dell is worth.
Actually, he looks even more clueless than George Bush. Wait. That’s not possible.
I’ve just gotta ask: has his photo been photoshopped? I’ve not seen a real-life picture of him. Do he really look like such a dork?
From AntiTeahadist Grammar Police:</strong >
1. You misspelled Goofy
2. “He looks more goofey than that dumbass Pelosi” should be “His <strong>goofiness surpasses</strong > that dumbass Pelosi.
You’re welcome.
<strong>Namaste
Dell Smells ….. Apple Sells
Hal?
wow..did mdn just delete 2 pages of comments? Could be wrong though, I could be going mental
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”wink” style=”border:0;” />
I forgot to celebrate you last Oct 6th. I try to remember your anniversary date this year!
Apple was revived when its founder came back as CEO.
Dell tried to save itself the same way. Unfortunately, all Mikey Dell has accomplished is to make his namesake company even more irrelevant.
But that’s the inevitable end of a company built solely on finding the cheapest way to make a product.
——RM
Pin Headed Prick.
Wait! Didn’t AAPL drop today? Where’d the AAPL 26¢ rise come from today? After hours?
What did you do to that picture? His eyes are every time closer to each other?
Wise investment advice from Mikey there – who wants a 61x (+6,080%) return on investment over 13 years when you could just cash out of AAPL in 1997 and invest it in DELL for a +7.7% return?
In fact your 1997 dollar had more purchasing power than if you’d invested it in Dell and taken it out again in 2010, so perhaps Mikey should have followed his own advice . . .
@Tarzan69
“invest it in DELL for a +7.7% return”
Didn’t DELL’s value go down (from $71.97B to $26.02B)?
I worked in A Dell Hell for 5 LONG YEARS….after they drained me of my graphics expertise they said ” I did not FIT THE MOLD”. LOL!!! At the moment I am unemployed and looking for work in the NEW tech world. I will be more selective in my next endeavor.
…No matter how you slice it (no pun intended), how nice you are, how articulate you present your ideas or how well those ideas are presented when it comes to Apple…. If you are talking to STAUNCH, IGNORANT, SELF RIGHTEOUS IT BLATHER HEADS who make the procurement decisions you will get nowhere. I KNOW I lived it…… and I am better off now that I no longer go to DELL HELL M-F… A true blessing. Go figure. And to close, I was always Thinking Different to make the whole better…. (((((shaking head))))
Michael Dell!!!! GMAFB! Nothing more than a junkyard salesman.