Once again, SV150 has made it clear that we live in an Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) world. The Cupertino-based tech giant dominated the SV150 annual performance of the Silicon Valley top tech companies.
Just as the world recovered from the endless revenue chart-busting news, Apple pops up once again with crazier numbers, this time overtaking Google-parent Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) to take the lead in sales. But the lead demanded almost superhuman enthusiasm to topple the leading and three time larger search engine.
It is only in Silicon Valley where it is possible for companies like Apple to record earnings as high as twelve figures and at the same time have questions about the success.
This has been the trend in a region where expectation has been exceptionally high and where the marginal fall in growth is seen as plain failure.
Last year, all companies that make up the SV150, the annual ranking of the Silicon Valley companies based on their revenue totaled to $133.3 billion in profits with the total sales recorded standing at $837.7 billion. The annual total profits of the SV150 went up by just 4.3 percent compared to 2014. This marginal increase appears more dramatic when compared to the 3013 and 2014 gain of 23.1 percent.
This dominance by Apple has been unseen since SV150 was launched 31 years ago. For some time, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co (NYSE:HPE) was selling over three time as much as it then second fiddle Apple. Despite Apple’s first-quarter earnings in January surpassed estimates by analysts, they were still far short of the expected target for revenue, sale of iPhones and other measures.
Even Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO seemed to be trying to manage expectation when he introduced a zen-like doublespeak saying that a number of great things have been happening in the turbulent environment.
The main culprit of the decline was the new iPhone 6s which sold only 13 million units during the September quarter. The new Apple Watch too failed to hit the set target even as millions of customers across the globe strapped them in the wrist within its first year. Apple failed to disclose the number of units sold.
