Forecast Analysis

For more than three decades, Apple Computer was predominantly a manufacturer of personal computers, including the Apple II, Macintosh, and Power Mac lines, but it faced rocky sales and low market share during the 1990s.  Steve Jobs co-founded Apple in 1976 and the company went public in 1980 raising about $100 million at a split-adjusted IPO price of $2.75 per share.  After reaching roughly $8 per share in 1983 (with annual revenue near $1 billion), the stock fell to below $2 per share when Jobs left the company in 1985.  Apple’s net profits were up and down from 1985 through 1995, being as high as $530 and as low as $61M.  Apple brought Steve Jobs back in 1995, but Apple lost -$146M in 1996 followed by three years of record losses including -$1045M in 1998.  Although the forecast called for increase in profits of the next 7 years, the net profits would still be negative.