(Bloomberg) — Apple Inc. reported a record $18 billion in quarterly profit today, one of the biggest in corporate history, fueled by holiday sales of larger-screened iPhones. Just how does that three-month haul stack up?
Here are some comparisons by the numbers:
* It’s on par with the gross domestic product of Yemen, according to the World Bank.
* It’s equal to the debt faced by the city of Detroit, which led to its municipal bankruptcy.
* With Apple generating profit of about $200 million a day, Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook could buy the Dallas Cowboys (valued at about $3.2 billion by Forbes) with about 16 days of income, or the New York Yankees ($2.5 billion) in 13 days.
* Apple could fund the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s $4.34 billion annual budget four times over.
* For some technology-industry contrast: Microsoft Corp. on Monday reported quarterly net income of $5.9 billion, while Google Inc. is projected by analysts to report adjusted profit of $5 billion on Thursday.
* Apple’s quarter was bigger than the full-year profit at 373 companies listed on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, including General Motors Co., Caterpillar Inc. and Costco Wholesale Corp.
* Of the top five companies on the Dow Jones Industrial Average by market value, only Exxon Mobil Corp. has posted net income of more than $10 billion in any quarter since 2001. – Bloomberg
