A Strategic Analysis of Apple Computer Inc. & Recommendations for the Future Direction

Apple® today announced financial results for its fiscal 2012 fourth quarter ended September 28, 2012. For the quarter, the Company posted a net profit of US$45 million or US$0.13 per share. These results compare to a net profit of US$66 million, or US$0.19 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter (Bryan Chaffin, 2012). Apple is ranked number six among the main computer makers, with a market share of 3.48 percent, and worldwide, it is in ninth place with only 2.4 percent market shares for the first quarter of the year 2012. As one of the computer giants, Apple’s predominance position is losing. Before we provide recommendations and suggestions for the future strategy choices and direction of the company, it is essential to have an integrative understanding of the external environment and internal environment, identifying the opportunities, threats, strengths and weaknesses, and explore the core competencies, which can generate competitive advantages