Apple now has more cash than Microsoft

This is a new Apple shop opening in Siem Reap on Sivatha Boulevard. It's called Future World. Siem Reap already has one authorised Apple reseller, called iONE (also on Sivatha). iONE is also found on Phnom Penh's Monivorng Boulevard and I went in to compare prices recently. The seller told me the prices are the same in Siem Reap as in Phnom Penh but there are better freebies offered at the Siem Reap shop. Recent freebies included an LG phone and an iPod Nano.

I am an Apple user, not for any lofty reason than for the fact that Apple users are less vulnerable to viruses--hey, I no longer have an IT helpdesk! I've always been a PC user until I moved to Cambodia, simply because schools and offices use PCs in Singapore (unless you work in design). I found it a little annoying in the beginning when I first switched to a Mac, because I was frustrated with the limited software available for the Mac. This is especially the case in Cambodia, where you can get pirated PC software but hardly any for the Mac.

Since using a Mac though I have been a fan. My white MacBook, the cheapest one I could find (SGD1899 or USD1261, if you must know, bought in Nov 2007) has served me well and doesn't crash or hang or have any of the problems I used to have with my Dell notebook that the office provided--patches were a real annoyance.

By the way, Apple, with a market cap of USD85.8bn (23rd Oct), has enough cash now to buy Dell (market cap USD23.5 billion). Which is funny, given that 11 years ago, Michael Dell, when asked what he would do if he were Apple’s CEO, answered: “What would I do? I’d shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders.” Fortune Blogs

I also read how Apple is performing vis-a-vis Microsoft: Microsoft's quarterly revenues grew by 9%, compared to Apple's non-GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) revenue increase of 75.1% year over year. And no wonder, if my Singaporean friends are anything to go by. So many of them bought themselves an iPhone (I use a simple, second-hand, no camera, no radio, no nothing Nokia, which cost me USD20 in Phnom Penh).

From "Apple earnings, profits, and cash embarrass Microsoft" By Prince McLean AppleInsider.com:

"While Microsoft executives like to talk about Apple as an insignificant company with less than 5% of the worldwide market share of all PCs and servers sold, the Mac maker now has more cash than Microsoft and earns more than half of its profits and over three fourths its revenues.

For the quarter ending in September, Microsoft released revenues of $15.06 billion, net profits of $4.37 billion, and a reserve of cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments that added up to $20.7 billion.

Apple reported $7.9 billion in revenues and $1.14 billion in net profit, but those numbers don't include most of its iPhone business, which is hidden away in subscription accounting under GAAP rules. For that reason, Apple also released its real earnings: $11.68 billion in revenue and $2.44 billion in net profits. The company also reported a cash position of $24.5 billion.

Microsoft's quarterly revenues grew by 9%, compared to Apple's non-GAAP revenue increase of 75.1% year over year.