Apple just had a banner year, even as many S&P 500 companies suffer due to COVID-19 lockdowns in certain areas. But there’s still a key financial measure where Apple’s not No.1: Revenue.
Matt Krantz for Investor’s Business Daily:
The giant technology company still ranked third, behind Walmart and Amazon.com, in terms of revenue in 2020, says an Investor’s Business Daily analysis of data from S&P Global Market Intelligence and MarketSmith.
Revenue-watching is in style as investors wonder where growth will come from as the pandemic rages on. Walmart Thursday reported January-quarter revenue of $151 billion, topping top-line views by 2%…
Thanks to a powerful fourth-quarter for smartphone sales, Apple’s 2020 net income hit $63.9 billion. That’s more than any other S&P 500 company, by far. And it’s nearly 25% more than what No. 2, Microsoft, reported in profit.
Analysts are calling for Apple to post revenue of $333.5 billion this fiscal year ended in September. If that’s correct, it would mark powerful 21% top-line growth. But get this, Apple’s revenue would still be 40% less than the $567.3 billion in revenue Walmart is expected to post in its current fiscal year. And it’s 29% less than Amazon’s forecasted $473 billion in 2021 revenue.
MacDailyNews Take: Walmart’s net income in 2020 was $13.5 billion. Amazon’s was $21.33 billion.
Apple’s net income in calendar* 2020, the number Krantz uses above, was $63.9 billion.
Apple made a profit of $29.07 billion more than the top two revenue generators, Walmart and Amazon combined.
Having to generate far more revenue in order to earn far less profit, like Walmart and Amazon vs. Apple, is hardly a crown worth having. Low-margin inefficiency is not laudatory.
*Apple’s fiscal 2020 net income, ended September 26, 2020, was $57.411 billion or $22.581 billion more than Walmart and Amazon combined.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]