Analysis of Apple Inc's Business Model Based on the

SWOT Model and Financial Ratios

Hongyue Qiu*
1 Division of Business and Management, BNU-HKBU United International College, Zhuhai,
China

*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]

Abstract. Apple Inc is one of the most famous and valuable companies in the
world. Its tremendous development speed, marketing strategies, and innovation
mechanism have brought considerable returns to shareholders and created signif-
icant market influence. The topic of this essay is to explore Apple Inc's successful
business model, which is specifically reflected in Apple Inc's significant compet-
itive advantage in the industry and the financial analysis under the influence of
COVID-19. Through the SWOT model, value chain analysis, and common-size
financial statements, this essay discusses the distinction between Apple Inc com-
pared with its main competitors and the reasons for maintaining a relatively stable
rate of rapid development.

Keywords: SWOT, Value Chain, COVID-19

1 Introduction

In the process of studying the industry characteristics and development trends of the
consumer electronics industry, Apple Inc, as one of the leading companies in the indus-
try, is the research object that can’t be ignored. Since its establishment, Apple Inc has
grown at an astonishing rate of development in half a century to become one of the
world's most innovative and valuable multinational enterprises and has brought a sig-
nificant return to its shareholders. According to Lazonick and Mazzucato’s paper, in
July 2012 Apple paid $2.5 billion in dividends, its first such payout since October 1995.
Since then Apple has been paying dividends every quarter for a total of $7.8 billion in
the first three-quarters of fiscal 2013 [1]. Therefore, the essay selects Apple Inc as the
case study object to analyze COVID-19 influences on financial statements and the rea-
sons for Apple Inc's significant market competitiveness from the aspects of the compa-
ny's business model, financial situation, and risk assessment.
Apple Inc designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers,
tablets, wearables, and accessories, and sells a variety of related services. In the con-
sumer electronics industry, Apple Inc has tremendous competitive advantages with ex-
cellent brand awareness, market influence, and innovation ability, and ranked sixth on
the 2021 Fortune Global 500 list.

© The Author(s) 2023

H. Mallick et al. (Eds.): ICEMCI 2022, AEBMR 668, pp. 245–257, 2023.
https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-098-5_30
246 H. Qiu

The remaining essay structure can be divided into business analysis, including
SWOT and value chain analysis, financial analysis, risk assessment, and conclusion
four segments.

2 Business Analysis

2.1 SWOT Analysis

2.1.1 Strengths.

• In 2014, Apple Inc. surpassed Google as the world's most valuable brand. Mean-
while, Apple Inc. has significant brand awareness and market influence, and these
competitive advantages are based on Apple Inc.'s widely praised product quality.
Specifically, Apple Inc has a sophisticated quality management system, and the pro-
cesses of manufacturing are strictly controlled at multiple stages to ensure the per-
formance and safety of products. For instance, according to the annual report, Apple
Inc has established a consumer opinion collection system and is committed to
providing customers with the best purchase experience. Among them, Apple Inc col-
lects consumers' opinions through regular consumer questionnaires and online re-
search, which can assist the management team increases their understanding of con-
sumers' psychology and formulating improvement strategies. Therefore, Apple Inc
establishes customer loyalty through its high-quality products and further improves
the corporate image by minimizing consumer dissatisfaction, which creates a foun-
dation for future expansion.
• Apple Inc not only focuses on product quality but also implements excellent mar-
keting strategies to stimulate consumers' purchase desires. Specifically, Apple's mar-
keting strategies focus on the lifestyle pursued by contemporary consumers and dis-
tinguish it from the marketing concept that only concentrates on products. Mont-
gomerie and Roscoe’s paper mentioned that the Apple business model is designed
to drive consumers into its ecosystem and then hold them there, which gives Apple
the unique ability to maintain a low-cost sourcing strategy and subsequently lock the
consumer in through high switching penalties [2]. For example, Apple Inc's adver-
tising in 2013 focused on the theme of the family, and the electronic products only
played a supporting role in the record. This marketing strategy can let consumers
enter the warm scene created by advertising, increase consumers' yearning for a bet-
ter life, and finally produce the impulse to buy the marketed products. Hence, it’s
easier for consumers to resonate with Apple Inc's culture, increasing Apple Inc's
competitive advantage compared with companies using ordinary marketing meth-
ods.
• In 2021, Apple Inc ranked first among the 50 most innovative companies in the
world selected by Boston Consulting. Apple Inc can maintain a high growth rate for
a long time because of its unique innovation ability, including product innovation
and process innovation. For example, Apple Inc reformed the design and production
of all-in-one machines, using hard disks instead of memory to make MP3s and so
on. As Apple Inc's core competitiveness, these innovative reforms assisted Apple
 Analysis of Apple Inc's Business Model Based on the SWOT 247

Inc in quickly occupying and maintaining its leading position in the industry. This
has brought huge profit margins and market influence to Apple Inc and provided a
substantial basis for Apple Inc's future market expansion and strategic transfor-
mation plan.

2.1.2 Weaknesses.
Corresponding to the excellent innovation ability mentioned in the strengths, Apple
Inc needs to afford high R&D expenditures every year. In this case, Apple Inc bears
additional profit risks, which may disrupt the original long-term development plan and
even cause the dilemma of capital chain rupture. Hence, once the new products de-
signed can’t be recognized by the market, Apple Inc needs to bear huge sunk costs and
face significant financial distress.

2.1.3 Opportunity.

• During the corporation, suppliers can rely on Apple Inc’s market influence to im-
prove their reputation or obtain significant synergy. Lehman and Haslam mentioned
that Apple’s relationship with big box stores is unlike most suppliers as they retain
strict control over display and prices [3]. In addition, Apple Inc will keep the core
technology confidential, the upstream suppliers only assist in the basic work such as
assembling. Hence, suppliers providing agent processing services have low bargain-
ing power because of the service homogeneity. Accompanied by globalization, many
professional electronic manufacturing services (EMS) began to emerge in many de-
veloping countries. The sharp increase in the number of global suppliers has pro-
vided Apple Inc with more supplier choices, giving Apple Inc a greater degree of
reduction in product manufacturing costs while ensuring quality and service. There-
fore, Apple Inc can take advantage of this opportunity to further optimize its product
value chain and create considerable profit margins.
• Combined with the analysis of the strengths part, excellent brand effect, marketing
strategy, and product quality can provide Apple Inc with a significant competitive
advantage. Specifically, Bergvall-Kåreborn and Howcroft’s paper considers Apple’s
rapid dominance of the mobile market. This they argue led to the emergence of a
business model that weaves together internet-enabled mobile devices with digital
content, brought together within a closed proprietary platform or ecosystem, which
created a unique competitive advantage for Apple Inc [4]. Besides, according to the
prediction of the American Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), the income of
global consumer electronics products will grow rapidly at a relatively stable rate. In
this case, the competitive advantage within the industry can provide the possibility
for Apple Inc's business strategy of further seizing market share and attracting loyal
customers of other brands.

2.1.4 Threats.
Apple Inc sells a wide range of products, including mobile phones, tablets, hardware,
and software systems. This strategy disperses the business risks but increases the
248 H. Qiu

number of Apple Inc's competitors. In this case, many enterprises focus on the produc-
tion of one of these products, using more concentrated capital for innovation and de-
velopment, which means they may become more competitive than Apple Inc in this
specific field. Hence, once Apple Inc's development strategy is delayed or hindered, it
is likely to face the dilemma of customer churn.

2.2 Value Chain Analysis

The margin of Apple Inc's value chain is generated by support activities and primary
activities. Among them, the support activities of the enterprise also have an additional
synergistic effect on primary activities, improving its efficiency indirectly.

2.2.1 Primary Activities.

Apple Inc's primary activities are divided into upstream production and downstream
sales. Among them, the specific activities of upstream production include inbound lo-
gistics and operations, which are specifically reflected as material purchase and product
development. Firstly, in accord with the discussion on the bargaining power of suppli-
ers, the suppliers in the consumer electronics market don’t have the main decision-
making power because of the substitutability of their services. As a common feature
shared by the whole industry, all existing enterprises can reduce their costs through the
dominant bargaining power. However, different from the competitors in the industry,
Apple Inc discloses in its annual reports that it invests huge additional funds to improve
the supplier relationship every year. In addition, Apple Inc creates a win-win coopera-
tion strategy by transmitting market forecast information to parts suppliers. Under the
stable communication channels between Apple Inc and suppliers, suppliers can effec-
tively obtain relevant information. In this case, compared with other companies in the
industry, Apple Inc's huge annual investment and information transfer can ensure the
stability of products and further improve its future profitability. Secondly, Apple Inc
owns a well-praised market reputation because of its excellent products and innovation
ability. Compared with other competitors in the same industry, such as Dell and Sam-
sung, Apple Inc's products have significant technical advantages in design and manu-
facturing such as the development of the ecosystem. In addition, unlike other enter-
prises in the industry that face the problem of inefficient integration, Apple Inc has
created an efficient JIT inventory system to align inventory integration. There is no
doubt that tremendous innovation capability and production model integration can as-
sist Apple Inc in quickly occupying market share and expanding its influence in the
industry.
The downstream sales include outbound logistics, marketing & sales, and services,
which are reflected specifically in product storage, delivery, advertising, and after-sales
service. First, to reduce the serious problem of the company's inventory backlog, Apple
Inc innovatively used the direct selling model. It means Apple Inc produces according
to the demand of consumers, maximizing the mutual matching of the company's pro-
duction capacity and profits. Therefore, Apple Inc always estimates the future produc-
tion scale based on the market demand for similar products in previous years and
 Analysis of Apple Inc's Business Model Based on the SWOT 249

implements the internet sales strategy through cooperation with e-commerce platforms.
Unlike its competitors in the industry, Apple Inc can start manufacturing after accepting
customers' orders and adjust the product configuration according to customers' needs
to a certain extent. This mode of production can not only improve the purchase experi-
ence of consumers but also reduce the cash flow pressure of the company. Secondly,
Apple Inc has an excellent advertising design team, which can attract loyal customer
groups through marketing and media stories. As mentioned in the strengths analysis of
Apple Inc, Apple Inc places the product in a special situation and transforms its product
into a symbol that can represent the scene that is attractive to customers. This marketing
strategy is easier to be accepted by consumers and attracts them to approve of Apple
Inc's brand culture. Finally, Apple Inc has also been widely praised by consumers for
its excellent after-sales service. No matter the introduction of a replacement service or
Apple Inc's unique genius bar design, it can satisfy customers' demands as soon as pos-
sible, which has a significant positive impact on maintaining the brand image and at-
tracting potential investors in the market.

2.2.2 Support Activities.

Apple Inc's support activities include firm infrastructure, human resource manage-
ment, technology development, and procurement management. Firstly, as mentioned in
the operations, Apple Inc has an excellent product and process design and treasures
R&D and innovation as its core competitiveness in the market competition. In addition,
Apple Inc discloses a sophisticated management and planning mechanism, which can
effectively integrate logistics and cash flow in the production and sales process. In this
case, Apple Inc's excellent innovation ability and technology developments can com-
plete its long-term strategic layout and market expansion. Secondly, Apple Inc men-
tions in its annual reports that it has established a unique evaluation system for procure-
ment management, including high standard requirements for quality, upstream logis-
tics, and follow-up tracking. Apple Inc's careful and systematic evaluation process en-
ables it to continuously monitor the performance of suppliers and reduce the possibility
of receiving defective materials. Hence, Apple Inc can ensure the quality and efficiency
of procurement by replacing unqualified suppliers.
Thirdly, Apple Inc has closed its useless production facilities in many places, includ-
ing the United States and Ireland segments, and ensured its production efficiency by
establishing a JIT integration system. In this case, Apple Inc has greatly reduced its
infrastructure demand and reduced production costs on the premise of improving its
profitability. Finally, to achieve effective human resources management, Apple Inc has
specially set up an employee assistance center to deal with employees' daily consulta-
tions. Corresponding to Apple Inc's production and sales, a series of new employee
induction training, technician-related training, and team cooperation training carried
out by the employee assistance center can significantly help employees solve problems
and improve work efficiency. In addition, Apple Inc implemented the benefit registra-
tion system FBE (Flex Benefits Enrollment) on the company's Intranet in 1996. The
implementation of this plan enables most employees to gradually form the management
habit of their post-retirement benefits, provide protection for employees to the greatest
extent, and encourage employees to improve work efficiency and quality.
250 H. Qiu

3 Financial Analysis

3.1 Consolidated Statements of Income Analysis

According to the information disclosure of Apple Inc's annual reports from 2019 to
2021, common-size consolidated statements of income are calculated by dividing all
accounts by the total revenue of that year, which increases the comparability between
different accounts in different years [5].

Table 1. Consolidated Income Statements

Sep. 25, 2021 Sep. 26, 2020 Sep. 28, 2019
Net sales:
Products $ 297,392 $ 220,747 $ 213,883
Services 68,425 53,768 46,291
Total net sales 365,817 274,515 260,174
Operating costs
Cost of sales:
Products 192,266 151,286 144,996
Services 20,715 18,273 16,786
Research and development 21,914 18,752 16,217
Selling, general and administrative 21,973 19,916 18,245
Total costs and expenses 256,868 208,227 196,244
Operating income 108,949 66,288 63,930
Other income/(expense), net 258 803 1,807
Income before provision for income taxes 109,207 67,091 65,737
Provision for income taxes 14,527 9,680 10,481
Net income $ 94,680 $ 57,411 $ 55,256

• 2019-2020
According to the analysis of the consolidated statements of income in 2019 and 2020,
its total revenue increased from $260,174 million to $274,515 million, increasing
5.51%. However, the fluctuation of various operating costs, total operating income, and
provision for income taxes were all less than 1% of the total revenue. Overall, the com-
pany's total operation cost increases were close to the rise of the company’s total reve-
nue from 2019 to 2020, which meant that the company's overall performance was main-
tained at a certain level. Meanwhile, the operating income of Dell, Apple Inc's main
competitor, rose from $-191 million to $2,622 million from 2019 to 2020, and its
growth accounted for 3.04% of the total revenue [6]. Therefore, Apple Inc's overall
financial performance was slightly inferior compared with its competitors.

• 2020-2021
Based on the consolidated statements of income in 2020 and 2021, Apple Inc's total
revenue increased from $274,515 million to $365,817 million, rising by 33.26% tre-
mendously. In addition, the costs of sales of products and services, administrative ex-
penses, R&D expenses, and other general cost factors percentage in the total revenue
dropped compared with 2020. Among them, Apple Inc's cost of sales decreased
 Analysis of Apple Inc's Business Model Based on the SWOT 251

significantly by more than 1%. Driven by these factors, Apple Inc's operating income
percentage in total revenue increased by more than 5% in 2021. According to Apple
Inc's disclosure, the significant decline in its costs of sale was mainly caused by the
alleviating of the instability of its manufacturing supply chain and chip supply. Previ-
ously, due to the popularity of COVID-19, many Southeast Asian countries reduced
production efficiency or interrupted manufacturing, which increased the maintenance
cost of Apple Inc [7]. Therefore, Southeast Asian companies resumed production in
2021 dramatically reducing Apple Inc's operating costs. In this case, Apple's net reve-
nue disclosed in 2021 reached $94,680 million, amplifying by about 5% compared with
2020. In this case, Apple Inc's operation activities were enhanced in 2021 overall, which
means that Apple Inc had higher market competitiveness in the consumer electronics
industry.

3.2 Consolidated Balance Sheets Evaluation, Ratio Analysis, and

Suggestions

Similarly, common-size consolidated balance sheets are prepared by dividing all items
by the total assets of that year.

Table 2. Consolidated Balance Sheets

Sep. 25, 2021 Sep. 26, 2020 Sep. 28, 2019
Assets
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $ 34,940 $ 38,016 $ 48,844
Marketable securities 27,699 52,927 51,713
Accounts receivable, net 26,278 16,120 22,926
Inventories 6,580 4,061 4,106
Vendor non-trade receivables 25,228 21,325 22,878
Other current assets 14,111 11,264 12,352
Total current assets 134,836 143,713 162,819
Non-current assets:
127,877 100,887 105,341
Marketable securities

39,440 36,766 37,378

Property, plant and equipment, net

Other non-current assets 48,849 42,522 32,978

Total non-current assets 216,166 180,175 175,697
Total assets 351,002 323,888 338,516
Liabilities and Shareholders' equity
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable 54,763 42,296 46,236
Other current liabilities 47,493 42,684 37,720
Deferred revenue 7,612 6,643 5,522
Commercial paper 6,000 4,996 5,980
Term debt 9,613 8,773 10,260
Total current liabilities 125,481 105,392 105,718
Non-current liabilities:
252 H. Qiu

Term debt 109,106 98,667 91,807

Other non-current liabilities 53,325 54,490 50,503
Total non-current liabilities 162,431 153,157 142,310
Total liabilities 287,912 258,549 248,028
Shareholders' equity
Common stock and additional paid-in 57,365 50,779 45,174
capital, $0.00001 par value:
50,400,000 shares authorized;
16,426,786 and 16,976,763 shares is-
sued and outstanding, respectively
Retained earnings 5,562 14,966 45,898
Accumulated other comprehensive in- 163 (406) (584)
come/(loss)
Total shareholders’ equity 63,090 65,339 90,488
Total liabilities and shareholders’ eq- $ 351,002 $ 323,888 $ 338,516
uity

Table 3. Comparison between Apple Inc. and Dell Inc.

Liabilities to Assets
2019 2020 2021
Ratio

Apple Inc. 73.27% 79.83% 82.03%

Dell, Inc. 99.77% 96.82% 93.50%

• 2019-2020

According to the annual reports from 2019 to 2020, the total assets of Apple Inc de-
creased from $338,516 million to $323,888 million, decreasing by 4.3%. Meanwhile,
the company's total liabilities increased from $248,028 million to $258,549 million,
rising 4.24%. In this case, the company's liabilities to assets ratio increased from
73.27% to 79.83%. It meant that the company might face more extensive financial pres-
sure and higher costs of debts, which would further limit the company's long-term de-
velopment ability. However, according to Dell's annual report, its liabilities to assets
ratios in 2019 and 2020 were 99.77% and 96.82% separately [8]. Therefore, although
Apple Inc needed to afford higher debt pressure compared with the past, it still had a
significant competitive advantage compared with its main competitors. Besides, based
on the analysis of the company’s operation capacity, the company's assets turnover in-
creased from 74.09% to 82.88%, which indicated that the company's ability to create
sales by using total assets had been improved.
Moreover, the proportion of current assets in the total assets decreased from 48.10%
to 44.37%, and the proportion of current liabilities increased from 31.23% to 32.54%.
In this case, the adjustment of the company's financial accounts might mean a change
in the company's strategic plan that transferred current assets to non-current assets or
repay non-current liabilities. However, although the current ratio and quick ratio were
still greater than 1, the decline in the proportion of the company's working capital would
increase the possibility of the company facing short-term financial distress.
 Analysis of Apple Inc's Business Model Based on the SWOT 253

Furthermore, the company's liabilities to shareholder's equity ratio increased from

274.10% to 395.70%, mainly caused by the decrease of the total shareholder’s equity
from $90,488 million to $65,339 million. Among them, the company's retained earn-
ings decreased from $45,898 million to $14,966 million. In this case, it indicated that
Apple Inc provided benefits for existing shareholders in the form of dividends, which
could enhance the reputation of the company and investors’ confidence level. There-
fore, the adjustment of the company's financial structure might illustrate the movement
of the company's strategy that produce beneficial synergy for the company's long-term
development under the cost of short-term risks.

Table 4. Ratio Analysis

2019 2020 2021

Assets Turnover 74.09% 82.88% 108.41%

Current Ratio 154.01% 136.36% 107.46%

Quick Ratio 150.13% 132.51% 102.21%

Liabilities to Shareholder's
274.10% 395.70% 450.01%
Equity Ratio

Operating Cash Flow to

62.61% 76.43% 90.13%
Current Liabilities Ratio

ROCE 55.92% 73.69% 147.44%

• 2020-2021
According to the consolidated balance sheets from 2020 to 2021, Apple Inc’s total as-
sets increased from $323,888 million to $351,002 million, magnifying 8.37% [9]. In
addition, the company's total liabilities also increased from $258,549 million to
$287,912 million, increasing 11.31%. In this case, the company's liabilities to assets
ratio increased from 79.83% to 82.03%. Similar to the changes from 2019 to 2020, the
financial difficulties faced by the company might further increase. It might bring repa-
ration or litigation consequences caused by insolvency, which potentially had a signif-
icant impact on the company's reputation and market influence. In this case, the com-
pany should carry out relevant market research, make a horizontal comparison between
the company's financial data and the industry average level, and then adjust the existing
business strategies to reduce its business risks. For instance, the management team can
bargain with creditors through Apple Inc’s significant market influence to obtain debt
contracts that are more favorable to the company.
Based on the analysis of operation capacity, the asset turnover of the company in-
creased from 82.88% to 108.41%, significantly increasing by 25.53%. In this case, the
254 H. Qiu

company could create sales based on total assets efficiently, which meant that the com-
pany's profitability and development ability had been significantly enhanced. Mean-
while, the proportion of current assets in total assets of the company decreased from
44.37% to 38.41%, and the proportion of current liabilities increased from 32.54% to
35.75%. However, the company's operating cash flow to current liabilities ratio in-
creased significantly from 76.43% to 90.13%. Hence, despite current liabilities increas-
ing to some extent, the company could generate a larger amount of cash flow from
operating activities. It was not only conducive to reducing the risk of capital chain rup-
ture but also conclude the company's efficient use of potential development opportuni-
ties, such as using existing cash to create investment income. Similar to the analysis
from 2019 to 2020, the reduction of the company's existing assets might also be used
to reduce non-current liabilities or create non-current assets. Therefore, it could create
development opportunities for Apple Inc but also increase short-term risks to a certain
extent.
Overall, Apple Inc's ROCE rose from 55.92% to 73.69% and finally reached
147.44% from 2019 to 2021. In this case, the significant enhancement of ROCE meant
that existing shareholders could get a considerable rate of return, and it also indicated
that the relevant strategic adjustments of the company were beneficial to its overall
financial performance. Therefore, existing shareholders prefer to hold Apple Inc's
shares and have strong confidence in Apple Inc's long-term development ability and
profitability. However, it is worth noting that the fluctuation of the liabilities to assets
ratio illustrated that the company still needed to bear a higher risk of capital chain rup-
ture. In this case, the adjustment of the company's existing financial structure and the
further improvement of its debt handling capacity can assist the company in further
improving the performance of relevant financial indicators, and then stimulate the com-
pany's profitability and market influence.

4 Discussion

4.1 COVID-19

According to Apple Inc's 2020 annual report, the popularity of COVID-19 has had a
significant negative impact on the normal operation of global enterprises, including the
adoption of isolation and restrictions on the import and export of goods measures by
governments. In this case, this global health and safety problem has seriously hit the
global economic activities, hindering the circulation of goods and greatly affecting the
revenue of enterprises. Specifically, Apple Inc closed many retail stores and outlets
during 2020 and disclosed the increased transportation and storage costs in the financial
statements. Meanwhile, Apple Inc revealed in its annual report that its internal risk as-
sessment team has completed an effective assessment of the economic activity environ-
ment faced by the company, including the time, scope, and trajectory of the pandemic,
and the impact of the vaccine epidemic on the global demand for consumer goods. In
this case, Apple Inc quickly developed corresponding strategies to deal with potential
risks and minimized high expenditure by using online offices. Moreover, Apple Inc's
2021 annual report revealed that the impact of the epidemic was still persistent,
 Analysis of Apple Inc's Business Model Based on the SWOT 255

affecting the company's production and operation. Specifically, in the fourth quarter of
2021, the service of some parts suppliers of the company was interrupted, resulting in
a shortage of product supply. It can be predicted that the impact of the epidemic will
hit the company's operation for a long time in the future. Hence, Apple Inc needs to
establish more sophisticated business models and sales channels, to weaken the impact
of the epidemic as much as possible.

4.2 Business Risks

According to Apple Inc's annual reports, the business risks disclosed include the inten-
sive competition of enterprises in the consumer electronics industry and the high de-
pendence on component product manufacturing and logistics service outsourcing. Spe-
cifically, the enterprise competition within the industry intensifies the pressure on Ap-
ple Inc to rapidly develop high-quality products, which means that Apple Inc needs to
periodically innovate new products and successfully promote them to the market to
maintain its competitive advantage. Therefore, Apple Inc faces potential risks that new
products are not recognized by the market and quality defects, which may cause a sig-
nificant blow to the company's future revenue capacity and reputation. In this case,
Apple Inc is required to establish a sophisticated R&D management system, including
product testing, market acceptance survey, and inventory management. In addition, ac-
cording to Haslam and Tsitsianis’s paper, Apple’s US manufacturing facilities have
long since closed, and Apple is currently internally focused on design, the provision of
technical services, and managing retail stores [10]. It significantly reduces Apple Inc's
ability to directly control processing plants while sharing operating costs and labor
costs. In this case, once the supplier violates relevant contracts or laws, Apple I's repu-
tation, product supply capacity, and financial status may suffer significant impairment.

5 Conclusion

Overall, this essay evaluates Apple Inc's competitive advantages in the industry through
business operation, financial situation, and related risk assessment analysis. Both busi-
ness strategy, marketing concept, and financial analysis demonstrate that Apple Inc has
a strong market influence and a successful business model compared with its main com-
petitors. At the same time, according to Apple Inc's annual reports for 2020 and 2021,
although Apple Inc needs to afford the higher risk of capital chain breakage under the
impact of COVID-19, Apple Inc. can still create considerable returns for shareholders.
While enhancing investor confidence, it also illustrates Apple Inc's sophisticated risk
evaluation system.
However, the essay still has some limitations in the part of information collection
and integration. Specifically, the revenue forecast for the next five years is evaluated
by calculating the average growth rate of each operating segment in the past five years
and taking it as the future annual growth rate. In this case, the annual growth fluctua-
tions and global events including COVID-19 are ignored to some extent. This is be-
cause of the shortage of relevant internal information about the company’s prediction
256 H. Qiu

model, so it’s unrealistic to adjust the future growth rate of each operating segment in
combination with the company's risk assessment of the market and the company's re-
sponse strategies. Furthermore, the five-year forecast cycle amplifies the possibility of
floating factors, which may cause large errors in the long-term forecast. Therefore, in
future research, more reliable data from multiple enterprises in the industry should be
collected, and then a risk prediction model can be established that conforms to industry
characteristics. In this case, the negative impact of unexpected events on forecast accu-
racy can be minimized while considering the industry periodicity.

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