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: On January 27, 2011, 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.
• 13X: On August 26, 2011, Apple rose $9.86, or 2.64%, to $383.58 to hit a market value of $355.61 billion or more than 13 times that of Dell’s current $27.29 billion.
• 14X: On September 20, 2011, Apple rose $1.82, or 0.44%, to $413.45 to hit a market value of $383.31 billion or more than 14 times that of Dell’s current $27.15 billion.
• 15X: On February 15, 2012, Apple rose $14.03, or 2.75%, to $523.49 to hit a market value of $486.78 billion or more than 15 times that of Dell’s current $32.37 billion.
• 16X: Today, Apple rose $8.43, or 1.575%, to $543.84 to hit a market value of $505.75 billion or more than 16 times that of Dell’s current $31.35 billion.
Apple is also a debt-free company and currently has over three times in cash on-hand (now over $100 billion) than Dell Inc. is worth.
Hello, Mikey? Miiikeeey? Got any more brilliant advice?
See AAPL and DELL quotes via NASDAQ here.
Related articles:
Apple now worth fifteen times Dell’s market value – February 15, 2012
Apple now worth fourteen times Dell’s market value – September 20, 2011
Apple now worth thirteen times Dell’s market value – August 26, 2011
Apple now worth twelve times Dell’s market value – January 27, 2011
Apple now worth eleven times Dell’s market value – September 23, 2010
Apple now worth ten times Dell’s market value – September 09, 2010
Apple now worth nine times Dell’s market value – June 01, 2010
Apple now worth eight times Dell’s market value – May 21, 2010
Apple now worth seven times Dell’s market value – January 26, 2010
Apple now worth sextuple Dell’s market value – October 20, 2009
Apple now worth quintuple Dell’s market value – February 12, 2009
Apple could buy Dell outright; Mac-maker has more cash on hand than Dell is worth – October 21, 2008
Apple now worth quadruple Dell’s market value – May 01, 2008
Apple now worth triple Dell’s market value – December 06, 2007
Apple now worth double Dell’s market value – July 27, 2007
Beleaguered Dell: Shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders – March 02, 2007
Biting words on Apple come back to haunt Dell – February 10, 2007
Steve Jobs emails Apple team: Michael Dell not the best prognosticator, Apple worth more than Dell – January 16, 2006
Apple now worth more than Dell – January 13, 2006
Man, that didn’t take long. Are these going to be weekly events now?
Don’t worry. By the iPhone 5 Launch, this will be a daily occurrence. 😀
Michael Dell’s statement was only a reflection of his own capability, not Steve Job’s.
Agreed. I think MDN should drop it now.
It’s been 15 years now + Jobs is no more.
Different times so let’s move on.
How about we make it to a round 20x and then stop.
That seems fair.
The defective detective, Mr. Monk, would prefer a rounder number… 100!
Then we can call it square, er round!
Disagree! This never… gets… old…
No way. Dell needs to be reminded of that every day rest of his life.
We will never drop it.
Stay the course. Vindication is just soooooo sweet.
Well, that is until, Dell shuts Dell down and give the pennies back to the shareholders (both of them).
Good work, MDN. Maintain the consistency.
And also, never drop “Beleaguered”.
Those words were spoken and written spitefully against Apple, over and over and over in the early years, in repeated attempts to belittle Apple and Apple’s customers, and to hurt Apple financially by creating a negative image of Apple in the consumer and financial markets.
And now the pigeons have come home to roost.
Don’t let them forget, because we don’t forget the work and struggle and adherence to a higher standard that got Apple through all of the negativity and constant attacks, to where Apple is today.
Thank you, MDN.
hear, all ye good people, hear what this brilliant and eloquent speaker has to say!
+10
Never ever forget!
MDN, that is the appropriate response.
Remember the Maine!
Remember Pearl Harbor!
Remember the Alamo!
Remember the Fifth of November!
In times of deep divisions and sorrowful conflicts, a powerful rallying cry will bring the faithful out of their foxholes and ruined barns, up from the sheltering sewers and caves, and defecting from the files of shuffling wage slaves, to join the battle.
And make no mistake: the battle is far from over, and victory awaits the decision of Fate itself. The only acceptable outcome is unconditional surrender. Until that occurs, fight on and be steadfast and ever vigilant, for the totalitarians and their thralls will exhaust their resources to belittle every achievement, discredit every testimonial, sabotage every celebration, and smear every good name in order to reclaim their odious and reprehensible sceptre of control.
It isn’t over. It’s never over.
I realize this is all a bit of fun, but it really wouldn’t be good for Dell to be destroyed. They set a benchmark in cheap prices that keeps Apple honest. We might be still paying $10,000 for apple machines if people like Dell didn’t get prices lower.
This Mac old timer agrees – never drop it!
Mark every multiple until Dell is no more…
I never get tired of hearing this thrown back repeatedly into an a-hole’s face like a bucket of frigid water making him remember what a boob and incompetent he is. He is SO not worthy and his only legacy is marketing someone else’s POS OS in cheap plastic. Something Dell’s kids and grandkids will hardly be proud of as Steve Jobs kids and grandkids are or will be of Job’s accomplishments. The Dell Dad made cheap crap for the world to suffer under. Michael Dell is the Marquis De Sade of the tech world and De Sade’s kids probably weren’t very proud of him either…
Absolutely not. This is the gift that keeps on giving!
As an Apple fan of more than 30 years, I still remember vividly the derision and complete lack of respect for the Mac (and Mac users) by most of the Windows industry and user community. Michael Dell’s comment is a perfect reflection of the attitude that Mac users dealt with for nearly two decades.
So, excuse us while we revel in a little schadenfreude.
I for one, never tire of this. As an Apple user since 1987, and an AAPL investor since shortly after Jobs returned I remember those days with clear recollections. With Jobs’ vision back, I started a stock buying program which lasted through mid 2002. All those windows jerks laughed at me, and brokers insisted I buy cisco, microsoft, and dell instead of Apple, which they declared was going out of business. I fired the brokers and told the jerks not only would Apple survive, they would win, and their world was already dead. So every exponential gain over dell is very satisfying.
NO!
Disagreed. This has been an object lesson to Apple. Apple was persecuted and this has been a cause célèbre for Apple fan to mitigate for all the hurt that was caused by Michael Dell. Also this incident would help Apple to stay focussed whenever it tends to go astray. History must never be forgotten: it’s a mnemonic for the holocaust period that Apple had to go through.
Keep it up. It stands as a lesson to other Haters.
Rumor: Mikey offers MDN the company in exchange for eradication of that priceless damn picture
LOL
You know that MDN would promptly shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders. 🙂
That’s a good thing, too. After all… Dell is Sh*t frosting.
True. But Dell himself is worth 1,000,000,000 X more than 99.999999% of the people on this planet. Most people would like to “fail” like him 🙂
Correct! Michael is a success.
BUT. He should not have said what he said.
Michael, get off of our cloud.
How many times was Dell worth than Apple on October 6, 1997?
From what I can tell, about 4.2 or so.
Dell’s real ‘glory years’ from a stock price POV were from about the middle of 1998 to the end of 2000 (the first Internet bubble) when the gap got quite large.
Come on. You know MDN’s going to do it every time a milestone is hit. You don’t have to read it if it bothers you. Frankly, it never gets old. It just reminds us of how far Apple has come.
Dell, Schmell: Apple is worth more than Poland.
Why dose MDN keep posting this article?
It’s like to guys comparing cock sizes “oh look my cock is now 16X bigger than yours”
Everyone’s heard the story, it’s irrelevant now…the horse is dead already!
When Dell is actually dead, then we’ll stop gloating over his not-so-prophetic remark.
(I’m referring to Dell the company, not Michael Dell the man–I don’t wish anyone dead unless they truly deserve it).
Dell has lost half its market cap since 27 July 2007, when Apple was worth twice Dell’s value. How does Mikey explain the loss of value? Dell: the 2nd Beleaguered!! Mikey, sell Dell and give the stockholders their money back!!! 🙂
Dell smells, say it all ….
Nice goin’ Mikey:
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1329/is_2_36/ai_n57009802/?tag=content;col1
That’s a very revealing and compelling article on Michael Dell.
Thanks, oldjoey!
LOL… I bet Mr. DULL cringes whenever Apple hits another milestone. He can expect to see MDN post his portrait. hahaha
I will ** NEVER ** get tired of this! Never!!!
When apple is 7000 times bigger and the counter is ticking over 10 times per day, maybe THEN you’ll be sick of it?