However, it’s (sort of) rewarding to think about milestones, and take pause to think about other titans of industry and how we measure success. First off, firms that become the most valuable in the world (e.g., PetroChina, IBM, Cisco, Microsoft) typically go on to underperform the market. Most blame the law of large numbers. However, maybe this will change due to networking effects. The media will see this as a reflection on the health of tech. Sort of. I’d argue that, similar to the Dow, Apple’s stock has become the wellness index for the global rich. Apple commands 14% of the global smartphone market, and the rest is (mostly) Android. However, Apple garners 87% of the profits from the smartphone market. Consumers have two choices, spend a shit-ton of disposable income on a luxury item or get a phone for free and have your data/privacy molested.
Yay Capitalism.
