

Graphs of money made by Microsoft, Apple, and Google from 1985 till today - kgutteridge
http://royal.pingdom.com/2010/04/09/the-money-made-by-microsoft-apple-and-google-1985-until-today/

======
mattdw
Apple are the only primarily-hardware company of the three, which would
explain their lower profit/revenue ratio.

------
snowbird122
I like how all three companies have such different business models, but are
still successful. Microsoft sells software. Google sells advertising. Apple
sells hardware and software bundled together.

~~~
riffraff
yet now they are much more overlapping: ads, mobile, marketplace, online
services. It will be interesting to see what happens.

------
elblanco
I wonder where Apple would be if Jobs had never left?

That moment in the late 90s early 2000s where revenue was down and
profitability was going up is very interesting. If I didn't know that time
period coincided with Jobs return, I'd say they were just milking the cash cow
at that point.

------
csomar
I think Apple will profit hugely from iPhone, iPod and iPad; however they
won't take Microsoft position. Windows 7 is selling like mad. Software is more
profitable when you sell it!

Google is making money from ads and search which seems to be a big promising
market.

IMO, the most solid company is Microsoft. I can change my iPhone in 24 hours
with Htc or N900, I can change my iPad with HP slate in less time. However,
it'll take me months to decide if I should change to a Mac or Not and may be a
couple of years to change to it permanently.

Google also seems to be more solid, If I chose Gmail, Google Search, Google
Docs for my business, I won't change that easily.

~~~
ahi
Windows 7 is selling mainly because Vista didn't and they still have enough
monopoly power for Windows to be a requirement. I don't think this will last
though. Growth is in the mobile and appliance markets where Microsoft's
offerings suck and they have no monopoly power. I expect their Office/Windows
monopoly to crack in the next 10 years and then they're just another Sun.

------
jteo
Past performance is not indicative of future results. Otherwise we would all
be filthy rich by now.

Sticking to the topic: Apple is well on its way to becoming the future Sony.
Microsoft is throwing money at everything it can (which is a surprisingly
effective strategy sometimes), and Google is throwing money and brains at
interesting problems.

We live in interesting times indeed.

~~~
ableal
> Otherwise we would all be filthy rich by now.

Would you trade places with the richest man on Earth in 1900 ?

~~~
eru
Depends on what I would swap with me. (E.g. am I allowed to keep my current
age, or do I also swap the age with the rich guy from 1900? What about my
health and knowledge?)

