Global Economy – Hunted Head

The World’s Most Valuable Companies throughout History #5 – IBM

Frank Mortimer — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 09:42:02 +0000

In this nine-piece report, Huntedhead will look at global corporations throughout history. The ranking is based on total worth, adjusted for inflation.

IBM in 1967 – $1,300,000,000,000

As the developer of the first Personal Computer, IBM has certainly made history. Since the official establishment in 1911, IBM has had a revolutionary existence, not without controversy. In the 1940’s IBM supplied the Nazi-operated concentration camps with punched card systems for the registration of Jewish prisoners, a black page in the company’s history.

Technological advancements developed throughout the years include the electronic calculator, the floppy disk (1967), the bar code (1970) and the personal computer (1981). After IBM was passed by competitors on the home computer market, the focus shifted to the business end of the market. In 2005, Lenovo bought the PC-division for $650 million cash and $600 million in shares.

Nowadays, the core activities consist of selling computer hardware, software, technology and services in the IT sector. IBM is also active in upcoming markets, where they are trying to sell their extensive database services and analyses. The resulting revenue was $107 billion in 2011, earned by 433,000 employees. Although still one of the global top corporations, the adjusted-for-inflation worth in 1967 is significantly higher at a staggering $1.3 trillion, making it to the top-5 of our list.

IBM, the fifth largest corporation in history

The World’s Most Valuable Companies throughout History #6 – PetroChina
The World’s Most Valuable Companies throughout History #7 – Microsoft
The World’s Most Valuable Companies throughout History #8 – Apple
The World’s Most Valuable Companies throughout History #9 – ExxonMobil

The World’s Most Valuable Companies throughout History #7 – Microsoft

Frank Mortimer — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 10:10:22 +0000

In this nine-piece report, Huntedhead will look at global corporations throughout history. The ranking is based on total worth, adjusted for inflation.

Microsoft in 1999 – $851,000,000,000

Founded in 1975 by what now are two of the richest men in the world, Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft has dominated the personal computing market over the past decades. Starting out with MS-DOS, the company laid the financial foundation for the later development of the immensely succesful Windows operation system. For over 20 years, Microsoft Windows has been the most popular choice for PC owners. With the accompanying Office suite, Microsoft provides a set of tools that many cannot go without in the current digital era.

The revenue comes from licensing deals with PC manufacturers, who provide a legal copy of Windows with any new machine. Throughout the years, this model caused controversy as Microsoft was accused of monopolizing on their strong position, leaving potential competitors with little room to enter the market. The supposed monopoly has been proven, according to the EU Commission, resulting in fines of several hundreds of millions dollar for non-compliance to anti-monopoly laws.

Regardless of the lawsuits, Microsoft peaked in 1999 at a net worth of a staggering $851 billion (adjusted to 2012 figures), earning the seventh position on our list. Having missed the boat on mobile devices, the net worth has declined to $273 billion today.

Microsoft, the seventh largest corporation in history

The World’s Most Valuable Companies throughout History #8 – Apple
The World’s Most Valuable Companies throughout History #9 – ExxonMobil

The World’s Most Valuable Companies throughout History #8 – Apple

Frank Mortimer — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 10:12:54 +0000

In this nine-piece report, Huntedhead will look at global corporations throughout history. The ranking is based on revenue figures, adjusted for inflation.

Apple in 2012 – $661,000,000,000

Renowned for its easy-to-use and attractively styled products, Apple has transformed modern technology from something useful to something extremely desirable. Founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne, most of the initial operations took place in a garage. After the introduction of the Apple I the production surged and after a sizeable investment by a private investor, Apple went public in 1980 at $22 per share, instantly creating more millionaires (around 300) than any other company in history did before.

The $22 per share already pales in comparison to the current stock value of $443 (March 2013), but it seems like loose change when compared to the stock value at Apple’s peak in 2012. At a nearly unbelievable price of $702 the total worth of Apple was $661 billion, more than any technology company has ever achieved before.

Although technological developments have not been as innovative since the death of visionary Steve Jobs, successor Tim Cook has managed to increase sales of existing products (iPhone, iPad, iPod and Mac’s and Macbooks) and increase margins and profits. With a cash fund of $137 billion, Apple has enough money on hand to pay off the national debt of countries such as New Zealand, Kenya or Vietnam.

However, Apple (AAPL) stock holders are beginning to revolt as Apple pays out little dividend and the lack of innovative products, which has lead to a significant drop in share price. Time will tell if Apple is, once again, able to come up with a revolution in consumer technology. The buzz on an Apple watch is extremely high, but no official statement has been made. Regardless of the future , Apple has already earned the eight spot in our Most Valuable Companies throughout History Top-9.

Apple, the eigth largest corporation throughout history

The World’s Most Valuable Companies throughout History #9 – ExxonMobil

Frank Mortimer — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 15:08:03 +0000

In this nine-piece report, Huntedhead will look at global corporations throughout history. The ranking is based on revenue figures, adjusted for inflation.

ExxonMobil in 2007 – $573,000,000,000

Historically affiliated to John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company, the present ExxonMobil is the result of a merger between Exxon and Mobil in 1999. Although currently the world’s second largest company in terms of revenue, at the peak of its existence it turned over $573 billion (adjusted).

ExxonMobil is the largest oil refiner in the world and is the largest of the six oil ‘supermajors’, with a daily production of 3,921,000 ‘barrels of oil equivalent‘. More than 82,000 employees work to sustain the daily operations worldwide, the headquarters of the firm is located in Irving, TX (USA).

Throughout the years, the oil industry has received a lot of criticism regarding the environment and ExxonMobil is no exception. The slow response to the devastating 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spil in Alaska generated a lot of bad press and resulted in many lawsuits costing the company an entire year’s worth of profit, over $5 billion at the time.

The company bounced back and in 2012 made a profit of $41 billion.

ExxonMobil, the nineth largest corporation throughout history