Pages

▼

Monday, October 10, 2011

Apple, Goldman Sachs and Exxon

I'd like to suggest that if you want to see who the rapacious, greedy, put-profits-first corporations are, you need to look at Net Profit Margin. This is the amount of each dollar in sales that sluices into the pockets of the fatcats in the boardroom so they can buy new boots to stick them on your necks. Let's compare two hated multinationals and one beloved tech company.

Apple: 21.54%
Goldman Sachs: 18.17%
Exxon: 8.92%

I have to admit that the GS number surprised me. I didn't think they were quite so rapacious, but indeed they are. In 2008, GS got whacked and saw it's net profits cut by a factor of 6, so they're not quite as consistently rapacious as Apple.

Exxon, meanwhile, is a proper capitalist firm, providing valuable goods and services that we all use and need for a reasonable price while employing lots and lots of American workers, paying them fair wages.

Sarnia Refinery - Suncor Energy

Maybe we should hate Exxon a little less.
at

3 comments:

  1. Foxfier12:11 PM

    Not exactly apples-- ahem-- to apples, though. (You're right, and it's a distinction that the "evil greedy corporations" types won't make, but we aren't them....)

    Macs are luxury goods; a large part of their price is just because of the brand. Establishing a luxury brand name isn't cheap, but the profit from it goes up with sales in a way that, say, oil doesn't. I think the profit margin on the iPhone was over 50%? Can't see that happening with, oh, potatoes.

    I doubt there's a lot of data out there for designer handbag companies or something, though.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Foxfier12:14 PM

    Here we are!
    It's just for "mobile devices," but it's something....
    A comparison of the relative profit margins in mobile device manufacturers, for example, revealed that on company operations Apple had a 40 percent profit margin; Microsoft had a 38 percent profit margin; Nokia had a 4.9 percent profit margin and Dell had a 4.1 percent profit margin, as of 2010, according to Forbes magazine. Apple made a 55 percent profit margin off the sale of iPads, and has striven to keep its profit margin above 40 percent, according to Forbes. Apple commanded a 60 percent profit for the iPhone, as of 2010, according to Elmer-Dewitt.

    So Apple's net profit on phones was EIGHT TIMES that of Nokia

    ReplyDelete
  3. Mostly Nothing6:31 AM

    So the local "occupy" morons marched the other day. About 200 marched to the offices of TCF bank, the largest local bank.

    They were protesting the failed banking that "required" a government(Obama) bailout.

    The problem is TCF didn't need a bailout, they didn't have issues. They didn't want the government money, but it was forced on them.

    The CEO worked quickly and found out how to "pay" the government back the money he didn't want. In paying it back, almost immediately, he had to pay $3.4 million in interest, and was forced by the government to lower its dividend payments.

    Thanks for the prudent use of my tax dollars, government.

    And way to teach those corporate fatcats on the public dole a lesson there protesters.

    ReplyDelete