8 ms·

Tim Cook's Email to Employees About Apple's $1T Milestone

44 points by dsr12 8y ago

th0ma5 8y ago
Mentioned elsewhere, but also the first company that should have paid $1 Trillion in taxes by now.
- getsugablitz2 8y ago
  If they made their current net annual income for the entirety of their existence (not even close), then they would've needed to be taxed ~50% to have reached $1 trillion in taxes. I get (or at least hope) that it's an exaggeration, but I'm not too keen on seemingly witty phrases without substance that get repeated everywhere.
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
  - trophycase 8y ago
    Seems reasonable. "People" who make far less than that pay over 50%
- briandear 8y ago
  How much has Apple paid? How about all the employees? Shareholders? How many millions of jobs has Apple created? I am pretty sure that the net economic value created by Apple has far outstripped any alleged deficiencies in they taxes. And if you did tax them at 50% would they have innovated and hired as many people as they have? As a thought experiment, would Apple have been as successful if it were started in Paris rather than in a Los Altos garage? Why doesn’t Europe have more companies valued in the hundreds or billions? Why is there little Silicon Valley-style garage-based entrepreneurship in France? Culture is one aspect, but taxes and regulations are the primary reason. If you tax something, you get less of it.
  - lightbyte 8y ago
    >I am pretty sure that the net economic value created by Apple has far outstripped any alleged deficiencies in they taxes. That's not how taxes, or any law for that matter, work. You don't get to steal from the society that created you by screeching "but look at the JOBS I created!"
mhb 8y ago
Steve (alone?) founded Apple?
- TremendousJudge 8y ago
  yep, he did it all alone. there was nobody else helping out. nobody at all.
- alaskamiller 8y ago
  Your pedantry is annoying. "PERSON DID THING on the belief" is a literary turn of phrase.
  - mhb 8y ago
    Not sure which pedantry is annoying to you, but I thought it was surprising that the guy running Apple isn't crediting at least both Steves for founding the company on that belief.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
kire2345 8y ago
Isn't it a little bit sad to see that Tim Cook in this situation still looks backwards and talks about Steve Jobs in half of the email? Instead of being forward looking and laying out his vision of the future of apple and the products to come? He really is still simply maintaining Jobs' business, trying to repeat what Jobs said as often as possible so that he sounds like him.
- empath75 8y ago
  Steve Jobs is as much apart of the Apple brand as Walt Disney is part of Disney's.
  - gspetr 8y ago
    He literally isn't. In 100 years when people hear Disney they will think about Walt Disney. Why? Because it literally is "The Walt Disney Company". https://www.nyse.com/quote/XNYS:DIS https://www.nyse.com/quote/XNYS:DIS Will they think of Jobs or Gates when they hear of Microsoft or Apple? It's far from certain. How many CEO's from 100 years ago can you name that did not have their name in the company's name?
    - pwinnski 8y ago
      People know Ray Kroc = McDonald's. We know Rockefeller = Standard Oil. We know Thomas Watson = IBM. I'm not sure how many CEOs from 100 years ago I can name, period. Most companies that old do seem to include a person's name. But I'd say Steve Jobs stands at least as likely to be remembered as Ray Kroc or Thomas Watson, and for many of the same reasons.
- atarian 8y ago
  I disagree. I think Tim recognizes that Steve's legacy has a mythic quality that people want to relate to.
  - adfm 8y ago
    Bummer that Tim Cook didn't mention Woz. Heck, nobody here on "Hacker" News has mentioned Woz in the context of this article or Tim Cook's email. Way to go, folks. (and yes, Ronald Wayne deserves a shout out, too.) Posthumous reality distortion field in effect. Can you feel it?
mkirklions 8y ago
HN downvotes anything critical of apple, so heres my criticisms- >Anti consumer- Proprietary hardware, non standard devices, and a constant cornering of user content. I remember burning CDs from Itunes and ripping them back just to use them on my mp3 player... The hardware is 2x the price of non Apple brand, this should come as no surprise. >Anti developer- It sounds like at bare minimum I will need a 600 dollar refurbished apple mini to compile my app. And pay for yearly development. And apple intentionally breaks code. Not to mention prior to 2014, they were harsh on app developers denying many people's hard work. I cannot understand the fandom on HN, why would anyone be a fan of such an aggressive company? EDIT: 3 downvotes and 0 reasons why? Did Apple buy accounts on HN?
- ryanwaggoner 8y ago
  On the consumer side, I don't want "standard devices". I want excellent hardware with excellent software, and I want it to just work. Apple isn't perfect here, but they're much better than their competition. I also like their stance on privacy, and the fact that their business model is aligned with their stance. Also, didn't iTunes lead the charge to ditch DRM? On the developer side, I'm an iOS dev. It might be frustrating that Apple doesn't make their toolchain available to you on a Linux box, but I'm actually really glad. It's complex and frustrating enough without them trying to support hobby developers on other platforms. This sounds harsh, but if you don't care about / enjoy Apple's platforms enough to spend $600 to develop on them, they probably are better off without you developing for those platforms. Also, Apple doesn't generally "intentionally break code". They deprecate stuff all the time, which I appreciate both as a consumer and developer. It keeps the platform relatively cruft-free and ensures that I don't have to make my apps support iOS 1.0 through 12.0. All of the above is generally my opinion, so if you're going to argue that I actually do want standard devices, or that I should want Apple dev on Linux, or that deprecating things on their platforms shouldn't be my preferred approach, don't bother. So yes, I'm a fan of Apple, because I value things differently than you, and their actions align with my values.
- nicky0 8y ago
  The downvotes are because your comment does not address the content of the article in question. Instead, you have merely posted a generic criticism of Apple, going over the same old talking points we have all heard before. Thus, your comment does not constitute a quality contribution to this thread.
jedberg 8y ago
At Netflix, the milestone we celebrated was subscriber numbers, since that is what drove the business. Someone once asked our CEO why we didn't have a holiday party, and he said in effect that he'd rather celebrate important business milestones, and not a day on the calendar. It's interesting to me that Mr. Cook is downplaying this, but it makes some sense, since the price of the stock (and therefore the valuation) is only loosely tied to the success of the company. It seems like the CEOs who really know what they are doing choose their celebrations carefully. A good lesson to learn here.
- kornish 8y ago
  Fundraising and celebration is a related phenomena. I've sometimes noticed a lot of young first-time founders throw parties and celebrate having (investor) cash in the bank. Seems like folks with more experience tend to treat a successful fundraise as more of somebody else's money that you have to give back, and instead celebrate what they get done with that cash.
- joeblau 8y ago
  > At Netflix, the milestone we celebrated was subscriber numbers I feel like this is the same trap that Facebook fell into. Celebrating subscribers is great until you top out.
  - jedberg 8y ago
    I’m sure they will change to something else when subscriber growth is no longer driving the business. But they still have a long way to go there.
  - ASalazarMX 8y ago
    Why this crazy obsession for meteoric growth? If Netflix tops paid subscribers, it's likely doing incredibly well. Hell, even free subscribers make enormous amounts of money to Facebook.
- cryptozeus 8y ago
  Great point, may be personal life should also be like this. Instead of celebrating birthday or new year, you go all out on achieving personal milestones.
elorant 8y ago
So how much cash has Apple amassed in the last fifteen years or so since the iPhone reign? I'd say enough to keep them floating for at least another 20 years. And a lot of that could be attributed to Cook.
hal9000xp 8y ago
A bit off-topic. I've noticed that P/E ratio (Price / Earnings) is pretty decent for Apple and it doesn't change much. In fact, since 2009 till today P/E stays in corridor between ~10 and ~20. What it means is that $1TB market cap is relatively cheap price for Apple. Their stock price merely reflects growing net income, so their EPS (Earning Per Share) growing steadily over years: https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/AAPL/apple/pe-ratio https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/AAPL/apple/pe-rati...

44 points by dsr12 8y ago

th0ma5 8y ago

Mentioned elsewhere, but also the first company that should have paid $1 Trillion in taxes by now.

getsugablitz2 8y ago
If they made their current net annual income for the entirety of their existence (not even close), then they would've needed to be taxed ~50% to have reached $1 trillion in taxes. I get (or at least hope) that it's an exaggeration, but I'm not too keen on seemingly witty phrases without substance that get repeated everywhere.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- trophycase 8y ago
  Seems reasonable. "People" who make far less than that pay over 50%
briandear 8y ago
How much has Apple paid? How about all the employees? Shareholders? How many millions of jobs has Apple created? I am pretty sure that the net economic value created by Apple has far outstripped any alleged deficiencies in they taxes. And if you did tax them at 50% would they have innovated and hired as many people as they have? As a thought experiment, would Apple have been as successful if it were started in Paris rather than in a Los Altos garage? Why doesn’t Europe have more companies valued in the hundreds or billions? Why is there little Silicon Valley-style garage-based entrepreneurship in France? Culture is one aspect, but taxes and regulations are the primary reason. If you tax something, you get less of it.
- lightbyte 8y ago
  >I am pretty sure that the net economic value created by Apple has far outstripped any alleged deficiencies in they taxes. That's not how taxes, or any law for that matter, work. You don't get to steal from the society that created you by screeching "but look at the JOBS I created!"

mhb 8y ago

Steve (alone?) founded Apple?

TremendousJudge 8y ago
yep, he did it all alone. there was nobody else helping out. nobody at all.
alaskamiller 8y ago
Your pedantry is annoying. "PERSON DID THING on the belief" is a literary turn of phrase.
- mhb 8y ago
  Not sure which pedantry is annoying to you, but I thought it was surprising that the guy running Apple isn't crediting at least both Steves for founding the company on that belief.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

kire2345 8y ago

Isn't it a little bit sad to see that Tim Cook in this situation still looks backwards and talks about Steve Jobs in half of the email? Instead of being forward looking and laying out his vision of the future of apple and the products to come? He really is still simply maintaining Jobs' business, trying to repeat what Jobs said as often as possible so that he sounds like him.

empath75 8y ago
Steve Jobs is as much apart of the Apple brand as Walt Disney is part of Disney's.
- gspetr 8y ago
  He literally isn't. In 100 years when people hear Disney they will think about Walt Disney. Why? Because it literally is "The Walt Disney Company". https://www.nyse.com/quote/XNYS:DIS https://www.nyse.com/quote/XNYS:DIS Will they think of Jobs or Gates when they hear of Microsoft or Apple? It's far from certain. How many CEO's from 100 years ago can you name that did not have their name in the company's name?
  - pwinnski 8y ago
    People know Ray Kroc = McDonald's. We know Rockefeller = Standard Oil. We know Thomas Watson = IBM. I'm not sure how many CEOs from 100 years ago I can name, period. Most companies that old do seem to include a person's name. But I'd say Steve Jobs stands at least as likely to be remembered as Ray Kroc or Thomas Watson, and for many of the same reasons.
atarian 8y ago
I disagree. I think Tim recognizes that Steve's legacy has a mythic quality that people want to relate to.
- adfm 8y ago
  Bummer that Tim Cook didn't mention Woz. Heck, nobody here on "Hacker" News has mentioned Woz in the context of this article or Tim Cook's email. Way to go, folks. (and yes, Ronald Wayne deserves a shout out, too.) Posthumous reality distortion field in effect. Can you feel it?

mkirklions 8y ago

HN downvotes anything critical of apple, so heres my criticisms- >Anti consumer- Proprietary hardware, non standard devices, and a constant cornering of user content. I remember burning CDs from Itunes and ripping them back just to use them on my mp3 player... The hardware is 2x the price of non Apple brand, this should come as no surprise. >Anti developer- It sounds like at bare minimum I will need a 600 dollar refurbished apple mini to compile my app. And pay for yearly development. And apple intentionally breaks code. Not to mention prior to 2014, they were harsh on app developers denying many people's hard work. I cannot understand the fandom on HN, why would anyone be a fan of such an aggressive company? EDIT: 3 downvotes and 0 reasons why? Did Apple buy accounts on HN?

ryanwaggoner 8y ago
On the consumer side, I don't want "standard devices". I want excellent hardware with excellent software, and I want it to just work. Apple isn't perfect here, but they're much better than their competition. I also like their stance on privacy, and the fact that their business model is aligned with their stance. Also, didn't iTunes lead the charge to ditch DRM? On the developer side, I'm an iOS dev. It might be frustrating that Apple doesn't make their toolchain available to you on a Linux box, but I'm actually really glad. It's complex and frustrating enough without them trying to support hobby developers on other platforms. This sounds harsh, but if you don't care about / enjoy Apple's platforms enough to spend $600 to develop on them, they probably are better off without you developing for those platforms. Also, Apple doesn't generally "intentionally break code". They deprecate stuff all the time, which I appreciate both as a consumer and developer. It keeps the platform relatively cruft-free and ensures that I don't have to make my apps support iOS 1.0 through 12.0. All of the above is generally my opinion, so if you're going to argue that I actually do want standard devices, or that I should want Apple dev on Linux, or that deprecating things on their platforms shouldn't be my preferred approach, don't bother. So yes, I'm a fan of Apple, because I value things differently than you, and their actions align with my values.
nicky0 8y ago
The downvotes are because your comment does not address the content of the article in question. Instead, you have merely posted a generic criticism of Apple, going over the same old talking points we have all heard before. Thus, your comment does not constitute a quality contribution to this thread.

jedberg 8y ago

At Netflix, the milestone we celebrated was subscriber numbers, since that is what drove the business. Someone once asked our CEO why we didn't have a holiday party, and he said in effect that he'd rather celebrate important business milestones, and not a day on the calendar. It's interesting to me that Mr. Cook is downplaying this, but it makes some sense, since the price of the stock (and therefore the valuation) is only loosely tied to the success of the company. It seems like the CEOs who really know what they are doing choose their celebrations carefully. A good lesson to learn here.

kornish 8y ago
Fundraising and celebration is a related phenomena. I've sometimes noticed a lot of young first-time founders throw parties and celebrate having (investor) cash in the bank. Seems like folks with more experience tend to treat a successful fundraise as more of somebody else's money that you have to give back, and instead celebrate what they get done with that cash.
joeblau 8y ago
> At Netflix, the milestone we celebrated was subscriber numbers I feel like this is the same trap that Facebook fell into. Celebrating subscribers is great until you top out.
- jedberg 8y ago
  I’m sure they will change to something else when subscriber growth is no longer driving the business. But they still have a long way to go there.
- ASalazarMX 8y ago
  Why this crazy obsession for meteoric growth? If Netflix tops paid subscribers, it's likely doing incredibly well. Hell, even free subscribers make enormous amounts of money to Facebook.
cryptozeus 8y ago
Great point, may be personal life should also be like this. Instead of celebrating birthday or new year, you go all out on achieving personal milestones.

elorant 8y ago

So how much cash has Apple amassed in the last fifteen years or so since the iPhone reign? I'd say enough to keep them floating for at least another 20 years. And a lot of that could be attributed to Cook.

hal9000xp 8y ago

A bit off-topic. I've noticed that P/E ratio (Price / Earnings) is pretty decent for Apple and it doesn't change much. In fact, since 2009 till today P/E stays in corridor between ~10 and ~20. What it means is that $1TB market cap is relatively cheap price for Apple. Their stock price merely reflects growing net income, so their EPS (Earning Per Share) growing steadily over years: https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/AAPL/apple/pe-ratio https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/AAPL/apple/pe-rati...