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As one of the most unique and successful tech companies of our time, AAPL enjoys a high level of attention among investors and traders. Here’s everything you need to know about the stock, including company history, stock splits, trading information, and more.
About Apple Inc.
History of the company [1]
Apple Inc. was founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs and Stephen Wozniak as a technology company. It is the quintessential tech start-up success story, having started out in the Jobs’ family garage and since growing into one of the most successful companies of our time.
In 1985, Steve Jobs was fired from Apple Inc. by the board after clashing with then-CEO John Sculley. This came after the new product launches failed to live up to expectations.
However, 11 years later, Jobs was re-hired as CEO to turn the company around. Under Jobs’ leadership, Apple Inc. established the foundations it needed to become the tech behemoth it is today.
Following Jobs’ passing on 5 Oct 2011, Tim Cook was appointed to the role of CEO. Less than nine years later in 2020, Apple Inc. became the first company to achieve a valuation of USD 2 trillion.
The company has largely managed to keep its market capitalization above the 2-trillion mark since then. However, the company’s valuation fell under USD 2 trillion on 3 Jan 2023, following the release of its latest earnings report [2].
Business segments
Apple Inc, is a global technology company that designs, manufactures and sells a variety of digital devices, ranging from personal electronics like mobile phones, tablets and laptops, to wearables and accessories.
Its most popular product lines are the iPhone, iWatch and iPad, while the company also has a strong following for its Macbook line of laptops [3].
Complementing its sought-after devices, Apple Inc. continues to develop a range of consumer services including mobile applications, digital music and TV streaming, and cloud storage.
The establishment of a closed ecosystem consisting of Apple services and devices is thought to be an important strategy in the company’s fight against encroachment from competition in the mobile market posed by the Android platform.
Apple Inc. faces competition on several other fronts too, including smartphone manufacturer Samsung, video streaming company Netflix, computer manufacturer Dell and technology giants Google and Microsoft.
The company is headquartered in Cupertino, California. It has a total staff strength of around 164,000 as of September 2022 [4].
About the stock AAPL
AAPL trading information
- Primary exchange: NASDAQ
- Ticker: AAPL
- Country: U.S.
- Currency: USD
- Trading hours:
- Main: 9.30am to 4pm ET, Mon to Fri
- Pre-market: 4am to 9.30am
- After-market: 4pm to 8pm
When was AAPL listed?
AAPL was first listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market on 12 Dec 1980, four years after its founding. Its share price at Initial Public Offering (IPO) was USD 22. After accounting for stock splits, the IPO share price was USD 0.10 [5].
At the time of writing, the price of one AAPL share is USD 154.50, representing a return of 1,545x. The stock’s highest price was seen on 6 Dec 2021, when it closed the day at USD 179.45 [6].
Stock splits
AAPL has undergone five stock splits since it started trading [7]. The total number of AAPL stocks outstanding is estimated to be 15.84 billion [8].
| Date | Stock split |
| Aug 2020 | 4 for 1 |
| Jun 2014 | 7 for 1 |
| Feb 2005 | 2 for 1 |
| Jun 2000 | 2 for 1 |
| Jun 1987 | 2 for 1 |
Dividends
AAPL is a dividend-paying stock. Payouts are made every quarter.
Adjusted for stock splits, the dividend-per-share for AAPL has remained more or less constant between 2020 to 2022. The average dividend paid out to shareholders in 2022 was USD 0.23 per share [9].
Latest developments investors should note
Quarter ended 31 Dec 2022 sees 5% decline in revenue [10]
Apple Inc. recorded a 5% decline in revenue for the quarter ended 31 Dec 2022, marking the first year-over-year decline in sales revenue since 2019. It is also the largest-ever annual quarterly revenue drop since Sep 2016.
For Q4 2022, Apple Inc. reported total revenue of USD 117.2 billion, versus USD 123.95 billion for Q4 2021. Diluted earnings per share for the latest quarter was USD 1.88, down from USD 2.10 compared to the year before.
This is significant as the quarter included the all-important holiday shopping season, and marks the end of the buoyant two-year period between 2022 and 2021, where the company enjoyed high demand driven by the need to work and study from home.
CEO Tim Cook listed three reasons for the decline: the strong U.S. Dollar, production issues in China affecting the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max, and the overall macroeconomic environment [11].
Another attendant reason was the lack of high-end devices launched in the quarter, in contrast with the same period last year which saw the launch of new MacBook Pro laptops.
On the positive side, the company reached a milestone of 2 billion active devices across its iPhones, iMacs, iWatch and other products, up from 1.8 billion in January 2022.
Its iPad line also redeemed itself with a nearly 30% increase year over year upon the release of a low-end, inexpensive model as well as a new high-end model; a reversal of Q4 2021, in which Mac revenue surged and iPad’s revenue fell.
Apple Inc. also set an all-time revenue record of USD 20.8 billion in its Services segment, and managed to drive growth in total company revenue on a constant currency basis despite the challenging business environment.
EU antitrust suit [12]
In May 2022, the European Union announced it would be proceeding with an antitrust case against Apple. Inc.
The company is alleged to have unfairly lessened competition for its Apple Pay platform by monopolising access to the Near-Field Communications (NFC) technology instrumental to the iPhone’s ability to function as a contactless mobile wallet [13].
Noting that Apple Pay is the dominant mobile wallet in Europe utilising NFC, Apple’s alleged refusal to give other developers access to this technology fosters an exclusionary effect on competitors and leads to less innovation and less choice for consumers.
In response, Apple Inc. stated that Apple Pay “is only one of many options available to European consumers for making payments, and [it] has ensured equal access to NFC while setting industry-leading standards for privacy and security.” [14]
It added that it “will continue to engage with the Commission to ensure European consumers have access to the payment option of their choice in a safe and secure environment.”
Additionally, Apple Inc. is also under investigation for possibly violating EU antitrust laws for music streaming. The crux of the investigation revolves around allegedly unfair rules for rival services in the Apple App Store. [15]
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References
- “How Did Apple Get So Big? – Investopedia” https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/042815/story-behind-apples-success.asp Accessed 1 March 2023
- “Apple’s market cap falls under $2 trillion as sell-off continues – CNBC” https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/03/apples-market-cap-falls-under-2-trillion-as-selloff-continues.html Accessed 1 March 2023
- “Apple’s 5 Most Profitable Lines of Business – Investopedia” https://www.investopedia.com/apple-s-5-most-profitable-lines-of-business-4684130 Accessed 1 March 2023
- “Apple grew more slowly than Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta, and has so far dodged major layoffs – CNBC” https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/18/apple-had-slower-headcount-growth-than-tech-peers-no-layoffs-yet.html Accessed 1 March 2023
- “Investor Relations – Apple.com” https://investor.apple.com/faq/default.aspx Accessed 1 March 2023
- “Apple Inc. (AAPL) – Yahoo! Finance” https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/AAPL/key-statistics/ Accessed 1 March 2023
- “Investor Relations – Apple.com” https://investor.apple.com/faq/default.aspx Accessed 1 March 2023
- “Apple Inc. (AAPL) – Yahoo! Finance” https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/AAPL/key-statistics/ Accessed 1 March 2023
- “Dividend History – Apple.com” https://investor.apple.com/dividend-history/default.aspx Accessed 1 March 2023
- “Apple reports first quarter results – Apple.com” https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2023/02/apple-reports-first-quarter-results/ Accessed 1 March 2023
- “Apple sales drop 5% in largest quarterly revenue decline since 2016 – CNBC” https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/02/apple-aapl-earnings-q1-2023.html Accessed 1 March 2023
- “European Union moves forward in antitrust case against Apple – AP News” https://apnews.com/article/technology-business-apple-inc-european-union-commission-1850d4533690003923d6016ae62b1771 Accessed 1 March 2023
- “EU claims Apple breaking competition law over contactless payments – The Guardian” https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/may/02/apple-pay-contactless-payments-eu-competition-law Accessed 1 March 2023
- “Apple Pay is anticompetitive, says EU in preliminary ruling – The Verge” https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/2/23048116/apple-pay-eu-antitrust-nfc-payment-wallet Accessed 1 March 2023
- “EU says Apple breached antitrust law in Spotify case, but final ruling yet to come – The Verge” https://www.theverge.com/2023/2/28/23618264/eu-antitrust-case-apple-music-streaming-spotify-updated-statement-objections Accessed 1 March 2023
