Apple Case Analysis
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APPLE COMPUTER CASE ANALYSIS
After the return of Steve Jobs at Apple Computer many changes happened which finally brought the company back to profitability. However Apple holds a market share of only 3.48 percent among its six strongest competitors.
The fact is that today the PC market is a mature market and only the strong survive. In Exhibit 1 is shown how the PC market has been shared among the most valuable players and how Apples share has decreased by more than half during five years time.
Under the current situation the only way for a company to increase its market share is to take customers away from the competition.
So the question is what Apple has to do in order to gain more market share.
First of all lets point out which are the key advantages of Apples products over the competition. Why should a customer prefer an Apple?
It is better to distinguish Apples strong points in hardware and software sectors as the competition the company faces is in both fields.
Hardware
Style, aesthetic factors, unique elegant look. Apple manufactures PC cases, monitors, keyboards and other accessories artistically designed in a great colour range which can satisfy the most requiring aesthetic criteria.
Image, Ideology, differentiation. Apple has spent much on providing its customers a sense of supremacy over other PC users. It turns to be a matter of ideology to be an Apple user, provides you an image.
Software
Ease of use. Apple is traditionally aiming on bringing technology to the everyday user. They have invested much on providing the best user experience. That is the reason they always wanted to control both software (OS) and hardware development so they can control the user experience.
Stability. Mac OS is more stable and reliable than Windows and that is mainly because it runs only on Apple hardware.
On the other hand a close look on the Financial Ratios of Apple in a period of five years and in comparison with those of the competition during the same period can provide us with valuable information on how Apple managed their business as far and what has to be done to achieve their goals. Below are to tables with financial ratios over this period. The second table shows the average ratios of the competitive companies both in the hardware and in software sector.
Apple Computer Inc
Financial Ratios
FY 2002
FY 2001
FY 2000
FY 1999
FY 1998
Profitability Ratios
Gross Profit Margin
29,97%
24,93%
28,18%
29,03%
26,76%
Operating Profit Margin
0,80%
-6,21%
7,77%
6,29%
4,51%
Net Profit Margin
1,13%
-0,47%
9,85%
9,80%
5,20%
Return on Total Assets
1,03%
-0,42%
11,55%
11,65%
7,20%
Return on Equity
1,59%
-0,64%
19,14%
19,36%
18,82%
EBIT Margin
1,52%
-0,97%
13,68%
11,02%
5,54%
EBIT to Assets
1,38%
-0,86%
16,05%
13,10%
7,67%
Effective Tax
25,29%
28,85%
28,02%
11,09%
6,08%
Table 1. Apple Computer Inc Profitability Ratios
Competitors Average Financial Ratios
FY 2002
FY 2001
FY 2000
FY 1999
FY 1998
Profitability Ratios
Gross Profit Margin
39,38%
42,41%
44,40%
44,63%
46,70%
Operating Profit Margin
8,19%
12,96%
17,10%
18,04%
17,56%
Net Profit Margin
4,03%
4,40%
13,95%
13,60%
11,54%
Return on Total Assets
1,72%
-1,33%
12,81%
13,69%
15,08%
Return on Equity
5,88%
-1,01%
24,61%
24,10%
30,96%
EBIT Margin
5,50%
8,02%
20,71%
20,24%
17,70%
EBIT