If income inequality is important to you you need to stop buying Apple products.

[Egnever]

Last edited Sat Feb 14, 2015, 04:20 PM - Edit history (1)

I am not sure if there is another company on the planet doing more to create income inequality.

Here is a breakdown of Iphones

The iPhone 6 costs Apple between $US200 and $US247 to build, giving the company a profit margin of 69 per cent for the entry-level model sold in the US, according to a teardown analysis.

IHS found the costs range from $US200 ($225) to $US247 ($278) for iPhone 6 models that sell in the US for $US649 and $US849 without a contract. The more expensive models sport 128 GB of storage space, netting Apple a slightly higher margin.

Considering the prices of the phones in Australia, Apple stands to earn even higher profits here. Taking the cheapest iPhone 6 costing $869 and factoring in IHS's manufacturing cost of $225, it points to a 74.1 per cent profit margin - or a 286 per cent mark-up.

Costs for the iPhone 6 Plus run from $US216 ($243) to $US263 ($296) for models that sell for $US749 and $US949 without a contract.
The model would earn Apple a profit margin of 76.7 per cent in Australia on the 128GB iPhone 6 Plus - or a 329 per cent mark-up.
While a margin of 69 per cent is very healthy, a pair of $US300 Beats headphones from Apple cost anywhere from $US14 to $US40 to produce, generating a margin ranging from 87 per cent to 95 per cent for the company.

So apple is basically the king of hoarding cash while simultaneously doing everything in it's power to reduce labor costs. This is exactly how income equality is created.

For comparison here is a chart of average profit margin by industry http://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/New_Home_Page/datafile/margin.html

and another on gross margins by industry
http://research.financial-projections.com/IndustryStats-GrossMargin.shtml

Apple meanwhile, Analysts’ gross margin estimates range from 37.4% to 38.8%. Average: 38.1%.

http://fortune.com/2014/07/21/how-sweet-were-apples-profit-margins-last-quarter/

I doubt you can find another company on the planet doing more to further income inequality.

[we can do it]

1. nonsense

[Egnever]

5. How so?

Are you disputing that their profit margins are higher than any other company on the planet?

Or are you disputing that income disparity comes from companies not sharing profits with employees?

[TexasMommaWithAHat]

2. How much does Apple spend on research and development

Remember, most ideas don't pan out, even at Apple.

[Egnever]

7. That cost is included in the gross margins

DEFINITION OF 'GROSS MARGIN'
A company's total sales revenue minus its cost of goods sold, divided by the total sales revenue, expressed as a percentage. The gross margin represents the percent of total sales revenue that the company retains after incurring the direct costs associated with producing the goods and services sold by a company. The higher the percentage, the more the company retains on each dollar of sales to service its other costs and obligations.

So research and development is already baked in.

Apples gross margins are higher than any other company on the planet. That kind of income distribution is exactly what makes the the top 1%.

They make a decent product but they completely over charge for it while paying as little as they can for labor. It would be very easy for them to put the assembly plants in America and pay a decent wage and still make a killing. Google did it with the moto x and still sold it for less than an iPhone and the moto x runs circles around iphones

[giftedgirl77]

3. I hate Apple, but my kids love them....

[pnwmom]

4. Right. Apple's the king. Except for all the other cell phone manufacturers. nt

[DemocratSinceBirth]

6. Can't afford Apple...

I have a HP lap top and an old Samsung slide phone.

[ND-Dem]

8. K&R. all of the computer-related companies that i'm aware of are basically libertarian capitalists

writ large, though.

take all, give little to nothing back to the commons. or the workers.

[winter is coming]

9. You should probably capitalize the word "Apple" in your title.

I opened this post, wondering what Mott's had done.

[Egnever]

11. No offense meant to apples

Fixed

[Skittles]

10. I have never bought one

[Elwood P Dowd]

12. There is a huge difference between gross margin and net margin.

I ran a small business for 30 years. While we averaged close to 35% gross margin, the net margin was often 5% or less after paying our salaries and everything else.

Gross margin does not include the cost of marketing, advertising, commissions, accounting, insurance, etc.. Also, gross margin does not include local, state, and federal taxes.

Sounds like some selective accounting for the purpose of a hit piece by the Apple Haters Club.

[Egnever]

13. Doesn't matter what metric you use

Apple has the highest profit margin be it net or gross of any company. The only way you achieve that is by over charging your customers and underpaying your workers.

With massive sales of cutting-edge, high-margin electronics, Apple is now the second most profitable company in the world. The only company with a higher profit is the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.

Cool apple isn't as bad as the bank of china! So they have that going for them...

[Rex]

14. Well buying Microsoft products won't help either.

Bill Gates is intent on ruling over at least most of the world, how is that any different?

[Egnever]

15. The difference is in profits

Apple spends less to get more than any other company aside from the bank of china.


http://finance.yahoo.com/news/20-most-profitable-companies-world-175534730.html

How does income inequality come about if it isn't by refusing to share the fruits of your sales with the workers that actually produced the product.

Apple could easily have the highest paid employees in the world and set an example of how to do it right instead they chose to make insane profits on the backs of their workers.

The only other companies that come close to apples level of looting are banks and energy companies.

Not even Walmart who exploits their employees with the best of them approaches the level of looting apple is doing. Walmart runs an average net profit of a little under 4% Apple runs an average net of 21.6%

[jmowreader]

16. What brand would you like us to buy?

I'm sure there is a cell phone company that pays everyone from the janitor to the CEO $40 per hour, manufactures exclusively in the US, charges $49.95 for their best model, and donates all their profits to the Home for Wayward Boys, but since we don't know which one that is could you enlighten us?

[Egnever]

19. Yes they all do it....

seems to be the popular excuse but no one does it at near the levels Apple does.

Their profit margins are 4 times higher than Walmart yet they cant afford to treat their employees well.

http://www.cultofmac.com/103041/apple-store-employees-speak-out-against-demoralizing-draining-work-conditions/

Apple’s policies “made taking meal and rest breaks extremely difficult” and forced employees to work more than five hours without a break, according to a California judge who this week certified a class-action lawsuit that covers around 20,000 current and former Apple Store workers in the state.

The court ruling comes in response to a 2011 lawsuit and likely paves the way for a settlement. It follows a separate ruling in June in which a federal judge allowed Apple employees to press nationwide claims that accuse the retail giant of failing to pay wages during mandatory bag and technology inspections.

http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/11557/apple_store_workers_share_why_they_want_to_work_different

A Bay Area employee described what happened last year when he and about a dozen co-workers realized employees with years of service were being paid less than new hires doing the same work. Agitated about the situation but concerned about retaliation, the workers committed to a plan: during the approaching round of annual one-on-one meetings between workers and managers, they would each ask about pay disparities.

Those workers who did ask received a consistent response: “Money shouldn’t be an issue when you’re employed at Apple.” Instead, managers said, the chance to work at Apple “should be looked at as an experience.” “You can’t live off of experience,” said the worker interviewed. The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Apple has outpaced Tiffany & Co. jewelers in retail sales per square foot.

Employees said that Apple keeps its healthcare costs down by defining even employees working 40 hours a week as part-time if they can’t guarantee open availability (availability to be scheduled to work anytime the store is open). The three workers interviewed said that most employees at each of their stores either work second jobs or go to school, making open availability impossible.

[ileus]

17. I wouldn't hit a goat in the ass with a crapple product.

bad news is Microsoft and google are getting almost as bad for boxing you in with "This is the way you want it" BS.

[TampaAnimusVortex]

18. But what if I want to spend 3 times more for something than the competitor charges?

I really want an OS written for the lowest common denominator, and I'm willing to pay handsomely for it!

Shut up and take my money!