“In August 1985, Apple Inc. was trading near $1.81, the same year Steve Jobs left the company. The year of his return in 1997, Apple was in danger of extinction, with its share price trading near $3.18 in December 1997,” Bachar Samawi writes for Seeking Alpha.
“Apple ‘s share price closed last week at $376.99, registering a market capitalization of about $350 billion, running neck-in-neck with Exxon Mobil (XOM) for the title of America’s largest company. On July 26, 2011, Apple’s shares reached a record high of $404.5, with an associated market capitalization of about $375 billion,” Samawi writes. “It seems Apple is on its way to possibly becoming America’s first $1 trillion technology company, and whoever is to dethrone Apple must have such potential.”
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Samawi writes, “For a technology company to be able to take a bite off Apple, it must overcome the same nine hurdles that Apple managed to overcome: 1- Innovation & Creativity, 2- Miniaturization, 3- Design, 4- Integration, 5- Durability, 6- Service, 7- Marketing, 8- Pricing, 9- Management. Such hurdles don’t necessarily have a fixed height; depending on how high some of them can be cleared, and as long as a balance is maintained amongst all, some of the other hurdles can be forgiving.”
“So, who will take a bite off Apple?” Samawi asks. “Google? Facebook? Twitter? Microsoft? Yahoo? IBM? These are great companies, but it is unlikely they will take a bite off Apple. As a matter of a fact, it is more likely that Apple will take a bite off them. Apple has achieved an unbeatable package (design, miniaturization, integration, innovation & creativity) that has created a massive barrier to entry for others. Its stronghold on hardware, software and content, all targeting a modern coveted lifestyle, will take years to achieve by others, while Apple will continue to pull ahead of them…”
Read more in the full article, with the nine hurdles explained in greater detail, here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Joe Architect” for the heads up.]