I used ad budget as a proxy for a firm's discretionary cash flow. If you wanted, you could instead look up other financial figures and choose another proxy. For

I used ad budget as a proxy for a firm's discretionary cash flow. If you wanted, you could instead look up other financial figures and choose another proxy. For instance, Samsung had 2012: Revenue: $268 B (17% of S. Korea's GDP) Net Income: $26 B Total Assets: $470 B My point is that the companies Apple is competing against don't make these moves because they don't have the financial resources, it's because moves like these don't fit into their overall strategic plans.