Back in 1997, shortly after Steven Jobs had returned to be Apple Computer’s CEO in what at the time appeared to be a last-ditch attempt to revive the flagging company, Dell, Inc. founder and chairman Michael Dell was asked at a technology conference in front of thousands of techies what might be done to fix Apple:
“What would I do?’ Dell replied. “I’d shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders.”
Well, times change and iPods became popular, so a 12% surge in Apple’s stock price last week pushed the company’s market capitalization to $72.13 billion, which made it greater than Dell’s $71.97 billion market cap. Given that milestone, how much do you think Jobs enjoyed sending the following email to Apple’s employees at the end of last week as reported in this NY Times article?:
“Team, it turned out that Michael Dell wasn’t perfect at predicting the future. Based on today’s stock market close, Apple is worth more than Dell. Stocks go up and down, and things may be different tomorrow, but I thought it was worth a moment of reflection today. Steve.”
Nevertheless, Dell’s personal net worth estimated to be in excess of $14 billion still dwarfs that of Jobs, who is “only” worth five billion or two. Several years ago, when Apple wasn’t doing as well as it is now, Jobs traded options on Apple stock that would now be worth $3.3 billion for a more conservative package. So, based on Apple’s current $80 per share value, Jobs gave up about $2.5 billion in that deal. Jobs’ main wealth now is in his stake in the animation company Pixar. That stake is valued at around $3.5 billion.
Eh well, Apple will always have a better product. Dells do not usually have a long shelf life. Apple however, well, let’s just say I’m writing this message an a Powerbook G3 made in 2000 and it’s more functional than a PC manufactured in 2003.
Even though Apple may never be Microsoft or Dell or have good business tactics, it will always be around for no other reason than they do make a good product.
I’m sure that a billion dollars or two just doesn’t go as far as it used to. I hope Jobs is investing wisely and diversifying his portfolio appropriately. I’d hate to see him on food stamps.
As far as the “shelf life” of Dell’s computers are concerned, I’ve had two, and each has had a long shelf life, and no problems, despite constant use. Apples are wonderful machines and their fans are devoted, but Dell must be doing something right.
Given the dramatic plunge in Dell quality over the past 3 years I suspect it is that company which should just shut down and return the money to the shareholders. They can’t make laptops which last more than a few months.