PC SMALL TIPS: What does apple symbol means?

Σάββατο 4 Μαΐου 2013

Apple Computer was founded in 1976, and was incorporated the following year. However, it wasn't until September 1984 (following its legendary 1984 Super Bowl ad) that the company went public. Opening at $3.31, AAPL didn't hit double digits until mid-1987, but faltered (along with most other stocks) after Black Monday in October 1987. As of late 2008, the stock has split on three occasions: June 1987, June 2000 and February 2005, and all splits were 2:1.

Apple has historically been a leader in many areas of the tech world. It developed the first graphical user interface (GUI) on a consumer computer, the first ultra-successful online music store (iTunes Music Store) and it has transformed the music and entertainment world with iPods and iTunes. Although every product Apple has released hasn't been a winner--LISA, Newton, Mac Cube--its overall cultural impact has more than made up for those failures.

Apple has always featured a distinctive logo. While many attribute that to the supposed oversized ego of founder Steve Jobs, the logo has remained the same (except for a short-lived early version), at least in shape. The famous apple with a bite taken out of it has gone through a rainbow-colored phase, a minimalist monochrome period as well as a polished chrome look. At one point, the orientation of the logo on Apple laptops was corrected so that the logo would appear right side up when the laptop was being used.

Like Microsoft, Apple is now considered a mature company, and no longer a cutting-edge tech firm. But unlike Microsoft, Apple has never paid a dividend. And while Apple's next big announcement might be just around the corner, the mantra that every investor must remember (not only with Apple, but with any stock): past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Apple (along with virtually every other publicly traded tech company) has had its shares of ups and downs in the market place. While its downside has (more or less) mirrored the tech market as a whole, its largest gains have come after new products or services have gained traction, most recently the iPod, iTunes Music Store and iPhone. Despite of all of its historical problems, Apple has always been an analyst's darling in the financial sector.

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