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elppa

macrumors 68040
Nov 26, 2003
3,233
151
No, they should have kept it though, it would be worth a fair amount even now.

Just another in a string in bad business decisions made by Microsoft recently.
 

jav6454

macrumors Core
Nov 14, 2007
22,303
6,264
1 Geostationary Tower Plaza
Yes, Microsoft did buy Apple stock in 1997 and were unable to sell it for 3 years I think (until 2000), after that they could. I think they must have sold them.

If they did, Microsoft might be still kicking themselves as a year later (2001) the iPod came out and Apple stock started to rise like foaming milk until November 2007 (Before markets collapsed and all that).
 

Pika

macrumors 68000
Oct 5, 2008
1,759
0
Japan
They may as well still own it.

They still do? :confused:

Look at today's market share:

AAPL: 124.43
MSFT: 18.12

If they still do then why MSFT have a very low market share as Ebay while AAPL is almost as high as Google and IBM?
 

FX120

macrumors 65816
May 18, 2007
1,173
235
They still do? :confused:

Look at today's market share:

AAPL: 124.43
MSFT: 18.12

If they still do then why MSFT have a very low market share as Ebay while AAPL is almost as high as Google and IBM?

You fail at economics.
 

strider42

macrumors 65816
Feb 1, 2002
1,461
7
Can you teach me?

stock price is not market cap. apple is worth 109.91B microsoft is worth 170.70B at todays stock prices. MS is worth 70% more money, despite the difference in stock prices.

When you consider Microsofts pe ratio is only about 10, whereas apple is at 22, ms seems like a really good deal right now actually, if you beliebe its worth will continue to go up. Apple, potentially not so much.

Stock prices are about the last measure you would use to compare companies.
 

MisterMe

macrumors G4
Jul 17, 2002
10,709
69
USA
...

When you consider Microsofts pe ratio is only about 10, whereas apple is at 22, ms seems like a really good deal right now actually, if you beliebe its worth will continue to go up. Apple, potentially not so much.

...
The PE (Price-Earnings ratio) is a measure of the market's faith in the growth potential of the company. Both Microsoft and Apple are two well-known companies that have been around for more than 30 years. It is inconceivable that a single individual with no inside knowledge could have greater wisdom on these companies' prospects than the collective wisdom of the market. It would be boneheaded in the extreme to bet against the market's assessment of Microsoft and Apple.
 

uaecasher

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jan 29, 2009
1,289
0
Stillwater, OK
2 things i don't understand in movie:

1) how could steve jobs be kicked out of his own company.

2) how could bill gates run away when he copied mac .
 

jav6454

macrumors Core
Nov 14, 2007
22,303
6,264
1 Geostationary Tower Plaza
2 things i don't understand in movie:

1) how could steve jobs be kicked out of his own company.

Once Apple went public (stock market) it was no longer his company, it is now a publicly traded company that you me or anyone who can buy shares could own a piece of. Hence, Steve became an employee of the company he founded but is no longer owner off. This means he now had bosses to answer to (Board of Directors and investors) and could be potentially fired.

2) how could bill gates run away when he copied mac .

Because the current Apple CEO at the time couldn't really show how MS copied of Mac OS. Everyone knows MS copied off the Mac, its just legally, they couldn't show it. Hence, MS was off the hook.
 

elppa

macrumors 68040
Nov 26, 2003
3,233
151
Once Apple went public (stock market) it was no longer his company, it is now a publicly traded company that you me or anyone who can buy shares could own a piece of. Hence, Steve became an employee of the company he founded but is no longer owner off. This means he now had bosses to answer to (Board of Directors and investors) and could be potentially fired.



Because the current Apple CEO at the time couldn't really show how MS copied of Mac OS. Everyone knows MS copied off the Mac, its just legally, they couldn't show it. Hence, MS was off the hook.

The CEO at the time also signed a key agreement which effectively licensed parts of the Mac GUI to Microsoft. If that agreement hadn't been signed, then its likely the outcome of the case would have been different.
 

uaecasher

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jan 29, 2009
1,289
0
Stillwater, OK
The CEO at the time also signed a key agreement which effectively licensed parts of the Mac GUI to Microsoft. If that agreement hadn't been signed, then its likely the outcome of the case would have been different.

that's why i think apple does not have a market share like Microsoft, because they had management problems, I also sow the documentary "Welcome to macintosh" and I can see apple had a bad history with management
 

MisterMe

macrumors G4
Jul 17, 2002
10,709
69
USA
that's why i think apple does not have a market share like Microsoft, because they had management problems, I also sow the documentary "Welcome to macintosh" and I can see apple had a bad history with management
Microsoft's marketshare in Windows was inherited from its marketshare with MS-DOS. But the premise of your assertion is to compare apples and oranges, pardon the pun.

One serious mistake that you are making is to assume that the history of personal computers is the history of Apple and Microsoft. Nothing could be farther from the truth. I would suggest that you read more than one book. After you do, you will marvel at what Apple has done. Unlike Microsoft, Apple did not have a sugar daddy to guarantee its livelihood. Apple did it on its own.

Apple is today a consistent profitable and innovative company. It is the only surviving pioneer manufacturer of personal computer CPUs. IBM, Radio Shack, Texas Instruments, Commodore, Cromenco, Franklin Computer, Digital Equipment Corporation, and many others are gone. Apple is still here and going strong. Not too shabby.
 

Lancetx

macrumors 68000
Aug 11, 2003
1,991
619
As for the original stock question, no they don't...

The 150,000 shares were convertible by Microsoft after August 5, 2000 into shares of the company's common stock at a conversion price of $8.25 per share. During 2000, 74,250 shares of preferred stock were converted to 9 million shares and in 2001 the remaining 75,750 preferred shares were converted into 9.2 million of Apple's common stock. All 18.2 million shares were sold by Microsoft in 2003.
 

steveza

macrumors 68000
Feb 20, 2008
1,521
27
UK
Apple is today a consistent profitable and innovative company. It is the only surviving pioneer manufacturer of personal computer CPUs. IBM, Radio Shack, Texas Instruments, Commodore, Cromenco, Franklin Computer, Digital Equipment Corporation, and many others are gone. Apple is still here and going strong. Not too shabby.
IBM is still alive and kicking - well I'm not sure about kicking by they are alive for sure.
 

Rodimus Prime

macrumors G4
Oct 9, 2006
10,136
4
Seriously. I wouldn't trust everything you read on Wikipedia. its about as trustworthy as a tabloid newspaper. More to the point, so what if his dad was an Arab? Aren't 99.9% of Americans Imigrants.

wiki has been shown to have about the same number of errors as an encyclopedia
 

MisterMe

macrumors G4
Jul 17, 2002
10,709
69
USA
IBM is still alive and kicking - well I'm not sure about kicking by they are alive for sure.
Not in the personal computer market, it isn't. It sold the remnants of that business to Chinese Government-owned Lenovo.
 
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