“Never before has this venerable company, which at age 34 is a grizzled veteran by Silicon Valley standards, stood so firmly atop the high-tech industry. Earlier this year, Apple’s market capitalization surpassed that of Microsoft, making it the most valuable property in the tech universe. And during its just-completed fiscal year, it broke four consecutive quarterly revenue and profit records,” Boudreau reports. “Amid the worst recession in decades, Apple hired thousands while others cut jobs.”
“But what most distinguishes Apple is the way it has climbed these heights,” Boudreau reports. “While other tech titans spent 2010 cutting costs and acquiring new technology through mergers, this $65 billion company is innovating like a startup… Its iPhone revolutionized the market for smartphones, the must-have product of the decade. Its iPad is now creating consumer electronics’ most promising new market, for tablet computers.”
Boudreau reports, “The pace of hiring accelerated during the company’s fiscal 2010, which ended Sept. 25. Over the preceding four quarters, it added 12,300 employees, raising its number of full-time workers to 46,600, a 36 percent jump. In the same period, Apple’s R&D spending soared 38 percent and it opened 44 new retail stores, ending the year with a total of 317 outlets… During its just-completed fourth quarter, Apple reported a 27 percent jump in the number of Macintosh computers it sold — out-sprinting the PC industry, which recorded a 7.6 percent increase globally. The soaring popularity of its desktops and laptops is tied to what analysts call the “halo” effect — people fall in love with another Apple product, such as the iPhone, then fall in love with its computers.”
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