(Apple Computer, 2005)Stock Price PerformanceAnother interesting way to consider the financial performance is to evaluate how Apple 's stock price performed against the market and against its main competitors. As we see from the chart above, Apple 's performance has been inconsistent over the last 20 years compared to the S&P 500. It also has not performed at the same level as its main competitors, Dell and Microsoft. However, performance improved since 2003.
Profitability MeasuresApple substantially improved in its key measures of profitability in the last few fiscal years. In terms of return on assets, return on equity and profit margin, Apple strengthened financially and now has similar ratios to that of its competitors and the overall computer hardware industry (see table
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