“Apple’s 13-year run of quarterly revenue growth came to a crashing halt last month when the tech giant reported revenue of $50.6 billion, off 13% thanks to soft iPhone sales and a slowdown in China,” Kurt Badenhausen reports for Forbes. “The gloom-and-doom sentiment around the company has reached a zenith with the stock off 30% from its all-time peak 12 months ago.”
“But Forbes annual study of the world’s most valuable brands shows that Apple is still in a class by itself with a value of $154.1 billion, 87% more than second-ranked Google,” Badenhausen reports. “It is the sixth straight time Apple has finished first since Forbes began valuing the richest brands in 2010. ‘Brands get their value from how customers perceive them,’ says David Reibstein, professor of marketing and branding expert at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. ‘What makes it valuable from a company perspective is that customers are willing to pay a higher price or are more likely to buy.'”
Badenhausen reports, “Rounding out the top five are Microsoft ($75.2 billion), Coca-Cola ($58.5 billion) and Facebook ($52.6 billion).”
Read more, and see the full list, in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple certainly is in a class by itself in many ways.
What? Tim Cook’s been at the helm of Apple for a while and Apple is #1 most valuable brand?
Another sign of great leadership.
Well Dipshit Joe from Doofus, MO – guess this is also all Tim Cook’s “fault”?
Forgive the long post, but the last several weeks of bullying has caused me to bottle up plenty of thoughts for peterblood71.
My first thought whenever I read your posts is usually something like “Thanks for sharing your immaturity, fanboy.” You choose to use ad hominem rather than debate, and your contributions here are far more tiresome than those from Joe.
Your partisan attacks regardless of what is said (or not — it seems you like shadow boxing too) are highly immature. Do you really think anyone wants to engage in meaningful conversation with someone who just predictably picks a fight with any real or imaginary foe of Apple? Maybe it that makes you feel big, but in reality, you make yourself look like an ass here only to carry water for Cook. Rich hypocrisy too when you join the other immature posters who roll out the troll label to any idea that doesn’t line up with their narrow world views.
I have far more respect for people who criticize based on events and performance than those who just act as brainless political tools. Regardless of whether you deem his perceptions to be accurate, Joe isn’t the one blindly worshipping his corporate overlord. His criticisms, while harsh, are usually valid and are probably closer to the truth than you are willing to admit.
The overwhelming theme that Joe brings up over and over is: with all of Apple’s money, why can’t they ship more new products to replace the overwhelming slate of stale hardware and software in Apple stores today? That is a very pertinent question and it should be asked of Cook until Apple users get honest answers. I personally know more than one small business who has abandoned Apple because neither the Mac nor iOS has kept up with their needs. That is pathetic and inexusable of Apple, in my opinion. I don’t think I’m alone.
So whether you like to hear it or not, it is becoming more and more apparent to potential buyers that Apple is a more bureaucratic and deaf company than it was when it was the underdog, fighting for every sale by creating truly great products that just worked. Cook forgot why people developed loyalty to Apple long ago.
So now let’s talk money: so what if Apple has it now? Did that make Microsoft the superior company in the 1990’s?
Cook inherited the money printing machine (the iOS app store) from Jobs and has therefore had enormous flexibility to do anything he wants. Money is the ultimate cover-up for strategic errors. We may very well look back on Cook’s legacy and see horrible mistakes being made today. I do: he has failed Mac users. He has failed to make media distribution simple, fair to the artist, powerful for the collector, and fun for anyone.
So you will retort that Apple is rich, and that makes everything right! I disagree. Power and money disconnect leadership from the real world and they corrupt slowly but surely. Besides, what has Cook specifically done to improve Apple? Everything thus far has been a continuation or derivative of what Jobs started. A chimp could have allowed Apple to coast along with the surprisingly few hardware and software updates that Apple has accomplished in the last few years. Sadly, what Cook wants to do seems to be more social agenda and pet projects rather than delighting longtime Apple users who expect their products to be intuitive and just work. Those days are gone, and Cook is seeing himself handily outmaneuvered in new markets. Apple is a glaring laggard in an increasing number of markets.
I don’t care how much money Apple has today, just as I didn’t care how much money Microsoft had when they were the gorilla in the room. Get it?
well said!!!!!
Mike the Moron = to be summarily ignored.
I stopped at “fanboy.” Why do you waste your time? Trolls are really idiots.
Did you stop reading Peter when he preemptively lashes out calling a person who as far as anyone can tell isn’t even on the forum a dipshit?
That’s beyond mere fanboy behavior, that’s pathological.
You don’t know why or what we are talking about here but brave a foolish comment anyway. Now that’s pathological!
That’s my whole point which you conveniently missed! Imbeciles and malcontents like Joe or Mike aren’t out for a civil debate, only to inflame and make simplistic statements that neither are informative nor useful. They show little grasp of the subject matter. And extreme immaturity, so I laugh when you accuse me of same. I am just ignorance and argument incomplete intolerant. The fact you seem to come to Joe’s defense instead of recognizing the real problem here shows me you are also quite ignorant, and dare I say it, lacking the maturity of years to correctly understand the situation.
If you had half a brain yourself you’d recognize I am not simply defending Tim Cook and Apple like a fanboy supreme but the method by which they are criticized devoid of any inside knowledge or much of an attempt at understanding the big picture. It’s an opinion based on a faulty surface accusation. Often it’s the way it’s worded that rankles, showing a troll-like desire only to strike out and inflame.
The troll label fits perfectly under certain circumstances. Someone arbitrarily calling your mother a “slut” with nothing to substantiate the accusation, but someone just feels like saying it, might just get under your skin too. Hearsay, specious conjecture, mean spiritedness, homophobic comments are worthless, and worthless to this forum. It’s not a debate at that point, only troll bait.
If you are familiar with my posts you know I sometimes go off, as many do here from time to time, but mostly I am respectful unless the point of view is not substantiated by any reasonable argument (actually no argument, just scathing indictments based on flimsy evidence or bias). There’s something about this “Joe” character that got me especially angry.
You also fail to notice who the real bully is. Joe’s fatally flawed opinions are tossed out with nary a care for perspective or balance. Therefore not worthy of respect. Ad Hominem’s are perfectly permissible with such a trollish individual adding nothing but vitriol and empty calories to the discussion. Harsh opinions are fine if they can be backed up with something instead of mere negative bias.
Joe rarely makes useful observations, even if one sneaks by now and again. It’s mostly subterfuge.
Tim Cook was a partner to Jobs making that Apple money machine what it is today and is hugely responsible for the logistics for making that happen. Tim Cook didn’t just stroll into the CEO position the day Steve Jobs died. In many respects he is hugely responsible for the second coming of Apple, practically a co-CEO then. Give Cook more credit, or you are just another Joe showing a spectacular lack of tech history knowledge.
I agree there are many areas of Apple that could stand for improvement. I am less than enchanted with the Mac Pro and hope they address that soon. I am not debating that Apple is perefect and doesn’t make mistakes at all, but that’s not what the Joe’s of the world are debating, they are TELLING, and not engaging except in a negative way. I hope you can apprecate what a true civil debate is. Another giveaway for the Joe’s of the world being trolls is – they have precious little warmth or a sense of humor. A dead giveaway. You foolishly defend the coldly indefensible.
And now you say “a chimp could have coasted along” as CEO of Apple showing a profound ignorance on your part. Who the fuck are you? Have you run a company? What is your level of expertise? How do you feel in the least qualified to make such a dumb statement? OK, now you mention Tim Cook and social agenda’s his primary interest while ignoring Apple too eh? You are also the problem with such specious opinions based on hot air and personal biases. Pathetic. You make your own case against you.
I have long since cared less about “looking like an ass” when making a point. Like Tom Joad “I’ll be there” as will others when puerile minds invade here with their primary desire to simply drop little stink bombs and not engage in a real discussion. If you can’t tell the difference you are the least qualified to be calling me out. Shame on you.
I only “get” you are equally as clueless as Joe. How much money a business makes always determines it’s level of success. If people are disinechanted with Apple goods and services and profits tumble then that will be the bellwether you can actually use for a legitimate argument, and not just pulling this smelly shit out of your ass.
Who are you really? Hiding behind the “adult” moniker? Because you’re anything but.
Well said, peterblood!
“His criticisms, while harsh, are usually valid”
No, because he doesn’t make ‘criticisms’; he simply boringly repeats the same declarations in a petulantly negative tone. He does not make concrete points backed with logical argument.
Somewhat akin, in fact, to your own style:
– fanboy
– immature posters
– brainless political tools
– So whether you like to hear it or not…
– I personally know more than one small business who has abandoned Apple…
– he has failed Mac users.
– Those days are gone
“Apple is a glaring laggard…”
Oh, if only Apple could be more innovative and successful like Google, Microsoft, Samsung, HP, Facebook, Nokia, Dell, and so many more!!!!!
Thank you Sean. Nicely said and exposes their folly and agenda well.
With regard to all these business owners that you “know” that have “abandoned Apple,” to which platforms have they migrated? What do competing platforms offer them that Apple couldn’t? (Other than a lower price.)
Capability and performance matter. Apple _IS_ falling behind with the Mac platform.
so-called “adult”… we’re waiting for your answer to moreck.
Here you are, impatient one:
http://www.macworld.com/article/2038025/the-mac-office-when-quickbooks-for-mac-is-the-wrong-choice.html
Just one example of where the Mac does not serve the customer. Blame Intuit all you want, but small businesses are having a harder time justifying the Apple premium pricing on Apple products.
I stand by my comments, which are neither bombastic nor insults. Did you people not read the unprovoked personal attack that peterblood71 started with? That’s the level this forum has sunk to, and you people seem to think that’s okay. What an uncivilized bunch. And that is fact. Look at yourselves.
Good try, but fail.
moreck asked you a specific question about the companies you claimed to know that have “abandoned Apple” and which platforms they migrated to. A Macworld reference is not an answer.
On “premium”, even the pro-Windows Gartner group had to admit the enormously greater efficiency and reliability of Mac compared to Windows… worth enormously more than any pocket change difference in prices. (And yes, a hundred dollars here or there is pocket change over the life of a computer.)
While you’re at it, check Sean’s count below of your bombast and insulting.
I am a configuration manager and manage a mixed environment of thousands of endpoints around the world and can tell you that Macs in the enterprise is a mess. You have to constantly help your end users find workarounds for applications and functions that enterprise PCs do easily, they break about as often and repairing them is harder, and actually managing them requires a whole second “pane of glass” console and back end system that has to be paid for, maintained, and trained for.
As for PCs, if you are running them as Standard User, give Restore Points 20% of the drive space for back-ups then you lose any security advantage of Macs as a non-admin PC is hard to infect.
Nicely said.
re “adult”
Depending on how you count it:
– Empty negativity, name-calling, insults: 17
– Bombastic declarations with no backup facts or logic: 25
– Valid, concrete criticism: 1
Not bad for a company that’s going down the chute
gloom-and-doom
HAHAHAHAHA! Only on WallNut Street would Apple be gloom and doom.
🍎🐻🐂💩