Apple (AAPL) is one of the most well-known companies in the world. With a good market estimate north of $ 2 trillion, after briefly touching $ 3 trillion last year, its tools are operating worldwide; used everywhere from Alaska to Zimbabwe. From the invention of the personal computer, to the dark days following the dismissal of Steve Jobs, to the unprecedented success of the iPhone, Apple is easily one of the largest, most successful companies in the world. And here's how a technology giant made it all happen.
The two Steves
Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne founded Apple in 1976. Shortly after founding the company, Wayne sold his 10% stake, leaving Jobs and Wozniak.
Wozniak has created Apple's first device, the Apple I, which builds the original by hand with wooden cash as a computer computer.
The Apple II, also designed by Wozniak, was launched the following year, achieving tremendous commercial success. It was an independent system with a plastic case and keyboard. However, it was the VisiCalc spreadsheet app that worked on Apple II that helped make it a must-have for businesses and business users alike.
In 1980 Apple released the Apple III, the first Wozniak computer did not design it. The computer had many problems, including heat problems which caused the solder in the motherboard to melt, and the chips to come off the base. Jobs later called the loss from Apple III "innumerable."
Apple then started work on Lisa and Macintosh, both using a graphical user interface. Lisa arrived in 1983, but failed due to its $ 10,000 price tag. The $ 2,495 Macintosh, however, has become a major market success, and introduced the modern personal computer era.
Apple's first CEO was Michael Scott, who appeared in National Semiconductor in 1977. Mike Markkula, a former investor and third Apple employee, took over from Scott in 1981, leading the company until 1983.
That same year, Jobs appointed then Pepsi CEO John Sculley as CEO of Apple by asking if he wanted to sell sugar water for the rest of his life, or change the world. Sculley and Jobs initially quarreled, but their relationship soon deteriorated and, in 1985, Jobs tried to oust Scully.
The move was postponed, and the Apple board transferred Jobs to the position of chairman, away from the desired position. He then left Apple and founded the computer company NEXT.
Wozniak resigned the same year, after being frustrated with not working as an engineer. He sold most of his stock when he came out.
A run of CEOs
Sculley led Apple from 1983 to 1993, taking the company from an annual revenue of $ 569 million to $ 8.3 billion. But later the board fired him, accusing him of moving Apple computers to PowerPC chips instead of Intel processors and the failed launch of the Newton PDA.
The company turned the reins on Michael Spindler, who participated until 1996, and oversaw the company as it licensed its OS 7 operating system to other computer manufacturers that built a handful of clones for Mac. Those plans, however, lowered Apple's prices and ate up its bottom line.
In 1996 Gil Amelio became CEO and bought Steve Jobs' NeXT for $ 400 million to run the company's operating system on Apple computers. The following year, however, as Apple's losses continued to rise, Amelia was fired and Jobs was named as interim CEO of Apple.
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The return of Steve Jobs and revival of Apple
Back to the company we helped create, Jobs downsized products and projects with the aim of making the company a profit. Jobs continued to lead Apple during a period of rapid growth with the introduction of the all-in-one color Mac computer, Mac OS X, iPod, and iTunes.
In 2007, Jobs launched the company's jewelry: the iPhone. The following year, Jobs announced the App Store, and later launched the iPad. Tasks also oversaw the launch of the MacBook Air, which revolutionized the construction and construction of laptops and computers.
However, Joss also developed breast cancer later in his life, and sometimes he had to give it to Tim Cook, while he was seeking treatment. When Jobs died of the disease in 2011, Tim Cook took over as CEO.
The trillion dollar company
Cook has directed Apple's continued growth with new products ranging from iPhones to iPads, entering new business categories that include smart watches, wireless earbuds, and subscription services such as Apple Music +, Apple TV +, and Apple Arcade.
After 42 years in business, Apple's market share fell to the $ 1 trillion mark in 2018. Two years later, Apple's market cap rose to more than $ 2 trillion. And in January 2022, the maker of the iPhone became the first publicly traded company with a market capitalization of more than $ 3 trillion. When it came back since, analysts have already predicted when Apple will hit $ 4 trillion.
In the years since its inception, Apple has helped launch the computer revolution, the emergence of digital music and the introduction of the smartphone era. In its wake, it left behind a few competitors who could not match its products or resilience. Not bad for a company that started in the garage.
