Kenya Jordan, Ashley Kirschmann, Etta Stewart, Leah Monego, Rodrigo Ramos
ACC/280
March 27, 2011
Glenn Purcell
Executive Summary for Apple, Inc. Company History Apple Inc. is a corporation that designs and manufactures computer hardware, software and other consumer electronic products. The company is known for the Macintosh personal computers, iTunes media applications and the iPod personal music players. Apple was founded in April 1976 by Steven Wozniak and Steve Jobs, both college dropouts. In 1976, Wozniak and Jobs created the Apple I computer which did not have a keyboard or power supply for a computer hobbyist club. Later that summer Wozniak started his development of the Apple II, which was designed to attract a broader market than the hobbyist clubs. The earliest Apple II used cassette tapes to read and store information, which were unreliable and slow. By 1978, Wozniak had introduced the Apple Disk II at the time was the only fastest and cheapest disk drive available for computers. The Disk II led to the development of software for the Apple II (Funding Universe, 2011). According to Funding Universe (2011), “The introduction of Apple II, with a user manual, at a consumer electronics show signaled that Apple was expanding beyond the hobbyist market to make its computers consumer items. By the end of 1978, Apple was one of the fastest growing companies in the United States, with its products carried by over 100 dealers” (Company Histories, para. 1-8). In December 1980, Apple went public, the company is traded on the NASDAQ exchange and the ticker symbol is AAPL (Common Stock). According to Funding Universe (2011), “The offering of 4.6 million shares at twenty-two dollars each sold out within minutes. A second offering of 2.6 million shares quickly sold out in May 1981” (Company Histories, para. 1-8). In 1998, Apple released the iMac and in 2001, they released Mac OS X, an operating system that attracted
References: Apple, Inc. (2010) United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved from:http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=107357&p=irol-reports Funding Universe. (2011). Apple Computer, Inc. Retrieved from http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories. Marketwatch.com (2010): Apple CEO Jobs says Cash Hoard Provides Security. Retrieved from: www.marketwatch.com/story/apple-ceo-jobs-says-cash-hoard-provides-security-2010-02-25 Weygandt, J. J. (2008). Financial accounting (6th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.