In “The Last Consumer Company,” Asymco‘s Horace Dediu argues that Apple has become the sole major pure-play consumer company among the world’s largest firms. Comparing the top 20 companies by market cap in 2010 (when consumer giants like Nestlé, P&G, J&J, and Coca-Cola still ranked high) with 2026 shows a dramatic shift: most now sell primarily to businesses, governments, or via high-margin cloud/enterprise services. Apple alone accounts for over 50% of the consumer revenue in the top half of the S&P 500 — making it essentially the only meaningful investment exposure to consumers left at that scale. If you want consumer leverage, own Apple; if not, exclude it.
When asked what they do, Apple says they create great products. Products that are designed to be useful and easy to use. “Building incredible products that make their lives better” is how John Ternus, the CEO put it recently. The “user” is usually expected to also be the “buyer”. It is therefore almost tautological to say that Apple is a consumer company…
Apple is over 50% of the total consumer revenue of the top half of the S&P 500.
Put another way, all other S&P 500 consumer sales put together create less value than Apple alone.
This anomaly suggests a curious and possibly unprecedented situation. From an investor’s point of view, Apple is essentially the only consumer investment worth considering.
MacDailyNews Take: We’ll scream it again: Apple remains woefully undervalued!
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