Business report overview and key principles

Business Report - Apple

Apple Inc. Mission Statement:

Apple sparked off the Personal Computer -- PC revolution during the 1970s starting with the Apple II and during the 1980s reinvented the PC with the Macintosh. Presently, Apple's run of industry leadership in innovation continues unabated with its popular computers, OS X operating system as well as iLife professional applications. Apple is also at the forefront of the digital media revolution with its video players, iPod portable music player along with iTunes online stores, and has become a new player in the mobile phone market during this current year by way of its revolutionary iPhone. (Investor Relations: What is Apple's Mission Statement?)

The Industry Area:

Apple Inc. serves the PC hardware industry with computers that continue to be an important constituent of its product mix. However, of late music-related products happen to be at the top of Apple's concern. Its digital music player's iPod and iPod Nano coupled with its online music stores iTunes commands a huge market share and consumer preference. Besides, Apple's desktop computers and laptop computers that is equipped with its own operating system 'OS X' includes its Apple Macintosh known as Mac. Its series are Mac mini, MacBook and iMac targeted at the consumer and education markets while it's more powerful the Power Mac and MacBook Pro-is aimed at the high-end consumers and professionals who use it for design and publishing. Its other products cover servers such as Xserve, wireless networking equipment at Airport, as well as publishing and multimedia software. The company's FileMaker subsidiary deigns database software. (Apple Inc.: Overview)

Major Products or services: iPod:

After the ever popular Macintosh range of PCs, the most differentiated product from the Apple Inc. stable after foraying into the line of digital music has been the iPod. It is a digital music player holding amazingly 20,000 songs apart from 100 hrs of video, 25000 photos, TV shows, iPod games, podcasts. Its price starts from $249 and it is a pocket sized device. It is able to play audio upto 20 hrs, or movies and TV shows extending upto 6 hrs. (Apple iPod) iTunes:

For its iPod, Apple has launched a service i.e. iTunes which is the online music store delivering instant music through its iTune stores. Through availing its service, one can build a collection of digital music, video and podcasts from the computer. Since every music and video is stored in the computer of the user, one is able to play it or stream the same to his home stereo. (Welcome to the Entertainment centre of your world) iPhone:

According to new research, Apple's iPhone could go into history as the most successful product introduction of the 21st century. iPhone integrates the benefits of having movie, music, internet and wireless telephone into a single device. Almost every customer is satisfied with their iPhone. The iPhone has a revolutionary "Visual Voicemail" that allows one to surf through all of the voice messages on screen and play them in any order preferred. (Apple: Top stories) the iPhone is an epoch making mobile phone that allows one to a make a call by just tapping a name or number in the address book of the phone, a favorite list, or a call log. Besides, it all automatically synchronizes all the contacts from a PC, Mac, or that of an Internet service. To top it allows one to chose and listen to messages in the voicemail similar to email. It has a 2MP camera and a photo management application which is a generation ahead that is available in phones presently. (Apple iPhone: Revolutionary Phone)

Revenue and Profit & Loss for 2005:

For the fiscal year 2005, Apple Inc. earned revenue of $13.93 billion and a net profit of about $1.335 billion thereby showing an annual growth of 68% and 384% respectively. This represents the highest revenue on an annualized basis and net profit in the history of the company. (Apple Reports Fourth Quarter Results)

Company Location:

Apple Inc. is headquartered at "1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, CA 95014-2083, U.S." incorporated in the year 1976. It operates in every major country and location as stated in its website www.apple.com.(Apple, Inc. (Apple)

2) Competing in global markets:

Apple has an illustrious past of always making application of cutting edge technology, slick design and customer friendly software to break the usual lock jam in which our machines have the potential to perform some works, nevertheless the developers have not been able to see the manner in which to make the experience simple, even pleasurable one for the users. This has been the major reason behind the people, particularly the swarming numbers who love iPods have been waiting for the phone with such eagerness. According to Steve Jobs, CEO, Apple, the iPhone is an excellently engineered, beautifully designed and creatively executed approach to a problem which no one has been able to unravel till date. It is a case of merging a phone handset, an Internet browser and a media player into a single package where every component shines, and the features are excellent. It is phone which witnesses the rare convergence of technologies. (at Last, the iPhone)