How the Apple Watch’s First Year Was Twice as Good as the iPhone’s
The Apple Watch may not have had a great year, but some people are looking at the bright side: In one noteworthy way–plain old sales–the first year for the Apple Watch was twice as good as the debut of the iPhone.
As the Wall Street Journal pointed out, the Apple Watch sold 12 million units during its first 12 months on the market, roughly double the total of the iPhone when it first went on sale.
Nine years after its 2007 debut, the iPhone is Apple’s most profitable product by far, having raked in almost $52 billion in the first quarter of 2016. For perspective, the iPad was a distant second with around $7 billion. But it wasn’t always clear the iPhone would be such a monster for Apple. The iPhone’s initial high cost as a phone deterred consumers, and the stakes of being an early adopter were much higher since it wasn’t only a new product—it was a new genre of product. Apple only sold six million units during the iPhone’s first 12 months.
Exploring the parallels among the Apple Watch and the iPod and iPhone is interesting, because all three seemed “unnecessary” and overpriced at the time they debuted. But while it’s still early for the Apple Watch, when you look at what features each product provides or problems it solves, the watch doesn’t appear to stack up to the older devices.
Source: How the Apple Watch’s First Year Was Twice as Good as the iPhone’s
The largest revenue company by state
Thank you to Broadviewnet for putting out this infographic. Here is the data:
| State | 2014 Company | 2014 Revenue (Billion) | 2015 Company | 2015 Revenue (Billion) | Headquarters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AL | Regions Bank | $5.89 | Regions Bank | $5.40 | Birmingham AL |
| AK | Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation | $4.44 | GCI Inc. | $0.91 | Anchorage AK |
| AZ | Avnet Inc. | $25.45 | Avnet Inc. | $27.49 | Phoenix AZ |
| AR | Wal-Mart Stores | $476.29 | Wal-Mart Stores | $485.65 | Bentonville AR |
| CA | Chevron Corporation | $228.84 | Chevron Corporation | $211.97 | Sam Ramon CA |
| CO | Arrow Electronics Inc. | $21.35 | Arrow Electronics Inc. | $22.78 | Inverness CO |
| CT | General Electric | $146.04 | General Electric | $148.58 | Fairfield CT |
| DE | E.I du Pont de Nemours and Company | $36.14 | E.I du Pont de Nemours and Company | $36.04 | Wilmington DE |
| FL | World Fuel Services | $41.56 | World Fuel Services | $43.38 | Miami FL |
| GA | Home Depot International Inc. | $85.53 | Home Depot International Inc. | $85.90 | Atlanta GA |
| HI | Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. | $3.23 | Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. | $3.23 | Honolulu HI |
| ID | Micro Technology Inc. | $9.07 | Albertson’s LLC. | $23.56 | Boise ID |
| IL | Archer Daniels Midland | $89.80 | The Boeing Company | $90.76 | Chicago IL |
| IN | WellPoint | $71.02 | Anthem Inc. | $73.87 | Indianapolis IN |
| IA | Transamerica Life Insurance Company | $19.04 | Transamerica Life Insurance Company | $23.34 | Cedar Rapids IA |
| KS | Sprint Communications Inc. | $34.56 | Koch Industries | $115.00 | Wichita KS |
| KY | Humana Inc. | $42.31 | Humana Inc. | $48.50 | Louisville KY |
| LA | CenturyLink Inc. | $18.09 | CenturyLink Inc. | $18.03 | Monroe LA |
| ME | Hannaford Bros. Co. | $3.98 | Hannaford Bros. Co. | $4.41 | Scarborough ME |
| MD | Lockheed Martin | $45.35 | Lockheed Martin | $45.60 | Bethesda MD |
| MA | Liberty Mutual Holding Company Inc. | $38.50 | Liberty Mutual Holding Company Inc. | $36.94 | Boston MA |
| MI | General Motors | $155.42 | General Motors | $155.92 | Detroit MI |
| MN | Cargill Inc. | $136.65 | UnitedHealth Group | $130.47 | Minnetonka MN |
| MS | Sanderson Farms Inc. | $2.68 | Koch Foods Incorporated | $2.80 | Flowood MS |
| MO | Express Scripts Holding | $104.09 | Express Scripts Holding | $100.88 | St. Louis MO |
| MT | Stillwater Mining Company | $1.03 | Stillwater Mining Company | $0.94 | Billings MT |
| NE | Berkshire Hathaway | $182.15 | Berkshire Hathaway | $194.67 | Omaha NE |
| NV | Las Vegas Sands Corp. | $13.76 | Las Vegas Sands Corp. | $14.58 | Paradise NV |
| NH | Sprague Resources LP | $4.60 | C&S Wholesale Grocers Inc. | $21.70 | Keene NH |
| NJ | Johnson & Johnson | $71.31 | Johnson & Johnson | $74.33 | New Brunswick NJ |
| NM | Presbyterian Healthcare Services | $4.60 | Presbyterian Healthcare Services | $2.05 | Albuquerque NM |
| NY | Verizon Communications | $120.55 | Verizon Communications | $127.07 | New York NY |
| NC | Bank of America | $101.69 | Bank of America | $95.18 | Charlotte NC |
| ND | MDU Resources Group Inc. | $4.46 | MDU Resources Group Inc. | $4.67 | Bismarck ND |
| OH | Cardinal Health | $101.09 | The Kroger Co. | $108.46 | Cincinnati OH |
| OK | Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores Inc. | $26.09 | Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores Inc. | $26.09 | Oklahoma City OK |
| OR | Nike Inc. | $25.31 | Nike Inc. | $27.79 | Beaverton OR |
| PA | AmeriSourceBergen | $87.95 | AmeriSourceBergen | $119.56 | Chesterbrook PA |
| RI | CVS Caremark | $126.76 | CVS Caremark | $139.36 | Woonsocket RI |
| SC | Sonoco Products Company | $4.48 | Sonoco Products Company | $5.01 | Hartsville SC |
| SD | Sanford Health | $3.10 | Poet LLC. | $6.00 | Sioux Falls SD |
| TN | FedEx Corporation | $44.28 | FedEx Corporation | $45.46 | Memphis TN |
| TX | Exxon Mobil | $438.25 | Exxon Mobil | $411.93 | Irving TX |
| UT | Huntsman Corporation | $11.07 | Huntsman Corporation | $11.57 | Salt Lake City UT |
| VT | Keurig Green Mountain Inc. | $4.35 | Keurig Green Mountain Inc. | $4.70 | Waterbury VT |
| VA | Freddie Mac | $81.22 | The Long & Foster Companies Inc. | $42.70 | Chantilly VA |
| WA | CostCo Wholesale | $105.15 | CostCo Wholesale | $112.64 | Issaquah WA |
| WV | West Virginia University Hospitals Inc. | $1.38 | Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc. | $1.24 | Morgantown WV |
| WI | Johnson Controls Inc. | $42.73 | Johnson Controls Inc. | $42.82 | Milwaukee WI |
| WY | Cloud Peak Energy Inc. | $1.39 | Cloud Peak Energy Inc. | $1.39 | Gillette WY |
4 ways to make the most of inheritance dollars
The challenge of taking care of inherited money is not insignificant. Too many stories abound where the inheritance was wiped out by incompetence of the person receiving the windfall or the evil efforts of others. Here are 4 ways to make the most of an inherited gift of cash.
1. Pay down debt
If you receive cash as an inheritance, paying down debt is a safe option.
If your debt carries an interest rate of, say, 3 per cent, then paying down that debt will allow you to achieve a guaranteed 3-per-cent after-tax rate of return. Not bad. And if paying down this debt helps you sleep at night, even better.
2. Invest the money
If you’re far behind in saving for retirement, the option of investing an inheritance needs to be seriously considered – even if you have debt. It’s difficult to make up for lost time when your retirement savings have been insufficient, so a shot in the arm can help. This decision should also be impacted by your income. If your income is low or unstable, and your retirement nest egg is small today, investing that inheritance is likely your best option.
3. Take care of others
Using your inheritance to help others can make good sense if your levels of retirement savings and debt are in decent shape. When I talk about giving money away, this can be in two general fashions: (1) to charity to help causes important to you, and (2) to family or friends to help them with needs.
4. Spend the money – but only once
I’m not going to be the one to tell you that spending part of an inheritance is completely taboo – particularly if your debt is under control, your retirement savings are decent, and you’ve got a sufficient and stable income.
In this case, go ahead and spend some of that inheritance. A renovation to your home is never a bad idea if it’s going to increase the value of your place. However you spend the money, make it a purchase that is lasting that will allow you to remember that special person each and every time that you see or use the purchased item. I discussed this in an earlier article.
You can get other ideas on wisely using your inheritance at this article: Four ways to make the most of inheritance dollars – The Globe and Mail