Verified Document

Apple Essay

Related Topics:

Apple exists in an oligopoly market structure, wherein a small handful of companies control the market. Apple, along with Samsung, Microsoft, Alphabet (Google) and Nokia, essentially control the tech industry (smart phones, computers, portable devices, etc.). While smaller companies do exist, it is these larger companies that set the stage for prices, products and innovation. To what extent Apple’s current status as a blue chip stock may be representative of the company’s actual true value and is a question that an analysis of micro- and macroeconomic trends and conditions may be able to determine. This paper will analyze economic data and business data to explain how the core economic principles impact the sustainability of Apple, Inc. and what actions the firm can take now to ensure success in the future.Apple’s current market share of smart phone market stands at 19.2% and the company leads all others with 77.3 million phones sold, which put it just ahead of Samsung for the first time (Angerer, 2018). The company’s market cap is currently over $822 billion and its P/E is 16.486. In the personal computer market, Apple is a top 5 vendor against competitors HP, Lenovo, Dell and Asus, all of which sold more units than Apple in Q3 2017 (Clover, 2017). These companies represent the real barriers to entry in the tech market: they stand out as proof of the fact that the market is an oligopoly, controlled by a few titanic companies. In the U.S., Apple’s market share is dominant as well:

Source: Fortune (2016)

Trends in current macroeconomic indicators...

Analysts have indicated that we are in the late stage of the business cycle, with hints of economic recession looming just around the corner (Mobasheri, 2017). Real GDP has risen steadily over the last three years:
Source: FRED (2018a)

Inflation as measured by CPI has also risen steadily:

Source: FRED (2018b)

This should not be surprising as the Fed’s policy (and every other central bank’s policy around the world) has been to “quantitatively ease” the market shock that emanated from the Global Economic Crisis of 2008 by way of printing trillions of new dollars and propping up the bond market with them. The spillover effect of bond purchases into the stock market has been well documented (Zhang, Zhang, Wang & Zhang, 2013; Yavas & Rezayat, 2016), but the real story is the rising inflation in various asset classes as a result of QE (Heller, 2017): stocks, bonds, housing, food, precious metals—the price of nearly everything has gone up since the central bank began heavily diluting the dollar (which is currently plunging in value as well):

Source: Goldprice.org (2018)

The unemployment rate sits at 4.1% as of October of 2017 and is purportedly down from 6% as of 2014, though unemployment statistics have been questioned for decades (everyone from serious market analysts and hedge fund managers to Abbott and Costello have lampooned government statistics on this front). Nonetheless:

The Federal Funds Rate is up steadily…

Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Apple
Words: 3363 Length: 9 Document Type: Case Study

Apple remains committed to its differentiated positioning, and that will inherently limit their share of the market. Tablets are Apple's second-largest market. The iPad was launched in fiscal 2010 and in fiscal 2011 it enjoyed 311% growth. It has now begun to emerge as a substitute for personal computers, even in the corporate market (Etherington, 2012). This has helped to drive growth. The iPad has always been a differentiated product

Apple Corporation SWOT Analysis Apple Inc. Is
Words: 1635 Length: 6 Document Type: SWOT

Apple Corporation SWOT analysis Apple Inc. is one of the well-known and recognized enterprises by not only the business community but populace from all over the world are cognizant about this corporation. It started off its business from the decade of 1970 that has been involved in the designing, manufacturing and offering its consumers with a wide range of innovative and technologically refined products like computers, software, music players and its

Apple Inc. That Was Previously Known As
Words: 3288 Length: 11 Document Type: Essay

Apple Inc. that was previously known as Apple Computer, Inc. is an American multi-national corporation that deals in consumer electronics, personal computers and computer software and was founded in 1976. Steve Jobs was the co-founder of Apple. During his stay as CEO, company launched series of revolutionary technologies. He died on October 5, 2011. Currently, Tim Cook is the CEO of Apple. Before being on this position, Cook was Apple's

Apple's Make Vs. Buy Decision
Words: 1481 Length: 4 Document Type: Case Study

Apple is considered one of the best companies globally at using a product lifecycle management (PLM) based approach to planning and executing new products, often leading to new patents being created in the process (Tariq, Ishrat, Khan, 2011). This first strategy concentrates on understanding just what is required from the new product teams in terms of support and services, then aligning hiring plans accordingly to ensure the highest possible

Apple Inc. Organization's Product Life Cycle Samsung,
Words: 1968 Length: 6 Document Type: Essay

Apple Inc. Organization's Product Life Cycle Samsung, Google, and Microsoft are the three predominant competitors for Apple Inc. These giant firms are fundamentally auspicious in making Apple Inc. lose its market share. They are utilizing price competition methodologies and more current and quick line expansions. The rivalry is exceptionally extreme because of current players and the presence of substitutes, which have the capacity to snatch ten percent of the market share

Apple Inc. Company Analysis Current Situation Currently,
Words: 1319 Length: 4 Document Type: Essay

Apple Inc. Company Analysis Current situation Currently, Apple Inc. focuses on designing, manufacturing, and marketing media and mobile devices, digital portable music players and personal computers. The company sells varied related services, software, networking solutions, digital application, content and peripherals. Products manufactured by the company include Mac, iPhone, iPod, Apple TV, different varieties of professional and consumer software, OSX and iOS operating systems, support and service offerings, as well as various iCloud

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now