Triumph of the iPhone: Apple's journey from near bankruptcy to trillion-dollar mark

iPhone的胜利：苹果公司从濒临破产到市值万亿美元的历程

SAN FRANCISCO: Apple is the world's first publicly traded company to be valued at $1 trillion, the financial fruit of stylish technology that has redefined what we expect from our gadgets.

旧金山：苹果公司是世界上第一家市值突破1万亿美元的上市公司，它是时尚技术的金融产物，重新定义了我们对电子产品的期望。

The milestone reached Thursday marks the latest triumph of a trend-setting company that two mavericks named Steve started in a Silicon Valley garage 42 years ago.

这一里程碑事件标志着这家引领潮流的公司取得了最新的胜利。42年前，两位特立独行的名叫史蒂夫的初生牛犊在硅谷的一个车库白手起家。

Apple's shares gained $5.89 to close at $207.39, leaving the company's market value a notch above $1 trillion - around $1,001,679,220,000, according to FactSet. Apple sits atop a US stock market that has become dominated by technology-centered companies: Amazon, Google's parent Alphabet, Microsoft and Facebook round out the top five in market value.

FactSet的数据显示，苹果股价上涨了5.89美元，报收于207.39美元，使得该公司的市值超过了1万亿美元，约为1,001,679,22万美元。苹果位于美国股市的顶端，该市场已由以科技为中心的公司主导：亚马逊、谷歌的母公司Alphabet、微软和Facebook在市场价值方面位居前五。

The achievement seemed unimaginable in 1997 when Apple teetered on the edge of bankruptcy, with its stock trading for less than $1, on a split-adjusted basis, and its market value drop below $2 billion.

这一成就若放在1997年，似乎难以想象，当时苹果公司濒临破产边缘，其股票交易价格低于1美元(经拆分调整)，市值跌至20亿美元以下。

To survive, Apple brought back its once-exled co-founder, Steve Jobs, as interim CEO and turned to its archrival Microsoft for a $150 million cash infusion to help pay its bills.

为了生存，苹果召回了一度被赶出公司的联合创始人史蒂夫•乔布斯担任临时CEO，并向其主要竞争对手微软寻求1.5亿美元的现金注入，以帮助其支付账单。

If someone had dared to buy $10,000 worth of stock at that point of desperation, the investment would now be worth about $2.6 million.

如果有人胆敢在如此绝望的时候购入价值1万美元的股票，那么这笔投资现在将价值260万美元。

Jobs eventually shepherded a decade-long succession of iconic products such as iPhone that transformed Apple from a technological boutique to a cultural phenomenon and moneymaking machine.

乔布斯最终引领了标志性产品长达10年的成功，如iPhone，将苹果从一家技术精品店变成了一种文化现象和一部赚钱机器。

The stock has been surging this week as anticipation mounts for the next generation of iPhone, expected to be released in September.

随着人们对预计将于9月份发布的下一代iPhone的预期值越来越高，苹果股价本周一直在飙升。

Although iPhone sales aren't rising as rapidly as they were a few years ago, Apple has been adding enough new features to persuade consumers to pay higher prices for its top-of-the line devices. In its most recent quarter, Apple fetched an average price of $724 per iPhone - a nearly 20 per cent increase from an average of $606 per iPhone at the same time last year.

虽然iPhone的销量没有几年前增长得那么快，但苹果已经增加了足够多的新功能，以说服消费者为其顶级设备支付更高的价格。在最近一个季度，苹果每台iPhone的均价为724美元，较去年同期的606美元上涨近20%。

The price escalation has widened Apple's profit margins to the delight of investors, who have boosted the company's market value by about $83 billion _ nearly equal to the entire market value of American Express - since the quarterly report came out late Tuesday. The 9 per cent gain was Apple's biggest two-day advance in nearly a decade.

价格的上涨扩大了苹果的利润率，令投资者感到高兴，自周二晚间发布季度报告以来，投资者将苹果的市值估值提高了约830亿美元，几乎相当于美国运通的全部市值。9%的涨幅是苹果近十年来两天内最大的涨幅。

Apple's stock has climbed by 23 per cent so far this year, compared to a 6 per cent gain for the Standard & Poor's 500 index.

今年迄今，苹果股价已累计上涨23%，而标准普尔500指数上涨了6%。

The recent rally in Apple's stock contrasts sharply from a deep downturn in the fortunes of two social media companies, Facebook and Twitter that offer some of the most popular apps used on iPhones and other mobile devices. User growth and engagement on Facebook and Twitter has been wavering amid deepening concerns about their ability to protect people's personal information and shield them from misinformation and other abuses that have been infecting their services.

最近苹果股价的上涨与两家社交媒体公司Facebook和推特在iphone和其他移动设备上使用的一些最受欢迎的应用程序的命运形成了鲜明对比。Facebook和Twitter的用户增长和活跃度一直摇摆不定，人们越来越担心，它们是否有能力保护人们的个人信息。

Consider the plight of Exxon Mobil, which was the most valuable US company five years ago. Now, it ranks as the ninth most valuable, surpassed by Apple and a list consisting primarily on companies immersed in technology.

想想埃克森美孚的困境吧，该公司五年前是美国市值最高的公司。现在，它的价值排名第九，被苹果公司和专注于科技行业的公司超越了。

Some analysts believe e-commerce leader Amazon.com will supplant Apple as the world's most valuable company in the next year or two as its spreading tentacles reach into new markets.

一些分析人士认为，随着亚马逊的触角伸向新市场，未来一两年，电子商务巨头亚马逊将取代苹果，成为全球市值最高的公司。

And Saudi Arabian Oil Co, known as Saudi Aramco, is planning an initial public offering that Saudi officials have said would value the giant oil company at about $2 trillion. But until the IPO is completed, Saudi Aramco's actual value remains murky.

沙特阿拉伯石油公司计划进行首次公开发行，沙特官员曾表示，这家石油巨头的估值约为2万亿美元。但在发行完成之前，沙特阿美的实际价值仍不明朗。

This much is certain: Apple wouldn't be atop the corporate kingdom without Jobs, who died October 2011. His vision, showmanship and sense of style propelled Apple's comeback.

有一点是肯定的：如果没有2011年10月去世的乔布斯，苹果将无法登上企业王国的榜首。他的远见、销售技巧和时尚感推动了苹果的东山再起。

But the recovery might not have happened if Jobs hadn't evolved into a more mature leader after his ext from the company in 1985. His ignominious departure came after losing a power struggle with John Sculley, a former Pepsico executive who he recruited to become Apple's CEO in 1983 - seven years after he and his geeky friend Steve Wozniak teamed up to start the company with the administrative help of Ronald Wayne.

但如果乔布斯在1985年从公司离职后没有成长为一个更成熟的领导人，苹果的复苏就不会发生。1983年，百事公司前高管约翰•斯卡利被聘为苹果公司首席执行官。七年后，他和他的极客朋友史蒂夫•沃兹尼亚克在罗纳德•韦恩的行政帮助下，联手创办了这家公司。

Jobs remained mercurial when he returned to Apple, but he had also become more thoughtful and adept at spotting talent that would help him create a revolutionary innovation factory. One of his biggest coups came in 1998 when he lured a soft-spoken Southerner, Tim Cook, away from Compaq Computer at a time when Apple's survival remained in doubt.

乔布斯回到苹果后依然善变，但他也变得更有思想，更善于发现能帮助他创建革命性创新工厂的人才。1998年，当苹果公司还苦苦挣扎时，他从康柏电脑公司挖走了说话温和的南方人蒂姆•库克。

Cook's hiring may have been one of the best things Jobs did for Apple. As Jobs' top lieutenant, Cook oversaw the intricate supply chain that fed consumers' appetite for Apple's devices and then held the company together in 2004 when Jobs was stricken with a cancer that forced him to periodically step away from work _ sometimes for extended leaves of absences.

招聘库克可能是乔布斯为苹果做的最好的事情之一。作为乔布斯的得力干将，库克负责管理复杂的供应链，以满足消费者对苹果设备的需求。2004年，乔布斯身患癌症，不得不周期性地离开工作岗位，有时还会延长休假。

Just months away from his death, Jobs officially handed off the CEO reins to Cook in August 2011.

在距离乔布斯去世前几个月，2011年8月，乔布斯正式将CEO的职位移交给了库克。

Cook has leveraged the legacy that Jobs left behind to stunning heights. Since Cook became CEO, Apple's annual revenue has more than doubled to $229 billion while its stock has quadrupled. More than $600 billion of Apple's current market value has been created in that time.

库克将乔布斯留下的公司带到了惊人的高度。自从库克担任CEO以来，苹果的年收入翻了一番多，达到了2,290亿美元，而其股价则翻了两番。当时苹果的市值已经超过了6000亿美元。

Cook hasn't escaped criticism, however. The Apple Watch has been the closest thing that the company has had to creating another mass-market sensation under Cook's leadership, but that device hasn't come close to breaking into the cultural consciousness like the iPhone or the iPad.

然而，库克并没有逃过批评。在库克的领导下，苹果手表是该公司最接近于创造另一款造成大众市场轰动效应的产品，但这款设备还没有达到iPhone或iPad的文化意识。

That has raised concerns that Apple has become far too dependent on the iPhone, especially since iPad sales tapered off several years ago. The iPhone now accounts for nearly two-thirds of Apple's revenue.

这引发了人们的担忧，即苹果已变得过于依赖iPhone，尤其是自几年前iPad销量下滑以来。iPhone目前占苹果收入的近三分之二。

Apple had also come under fire as it accumulated more than $250 billion in taxes in overseas accounts, triggering accusations of tax dodging. Cook insisted what Apple was doing was legal and in the best interest of shareholders, given the offshore money would have been subjected to a 35 per cent tax rate had if it were brought back to the US

苹果在海外账户中累积了超过2500亿美元的税收，引发了逃税的严厉指控。库克坚称，苹果的做法是合法的，符合股东的最大利益，因为如果将离岸资金汇回美国，税率将达到35%。

But that calculus changed under the administration of President Donald Trump, who pushed Congress to pass a swee overhaul of the US tax code that includes a provision lowering this year's rate to 15.5 per cent on profits coming back from overseas.

但在唐纳德•特朗普总统的领导下，这种想法发生了变化。特朗普推动国会通过了一项全面改革美国税法的法案，其中包括一项条款，今年将企业从海外获得的利润的税率降至15.5%。

Apple took advantage of that break to bring back virtually all of its overseas cash, triggering a $38 billion tax bill. All that money coming back to the US also spurred Apple to raise its dividend by 16 per cent and commit to buy back $100 billion of its own stock as part of an effort to drive its stock price even higher.

苹果利用这一机会，收回了几乎所有的海外资金，税务账单高达380亿美元。所有资金回流美国也促使苹果将股息提高16%，并承诺回购1,000亿美元自己的股票，以推动股价进一步上涨。

印度时报网友评论：

来源：三泰虎 http://www.santaihu.com/45724.html 译者：Joyceliu

外文：http://www.santaihu.com/45717.html

Chalu 3 hours ago
Credit goes to stupid customers who buy product to show off and not for features.. from phone to computer there is much superior products available.. but people buy this for false ego..

这都归功于购买苹果产品炫耀的愚蠢的顾客，他们注重的不是功能。从电话到电脑，有许多优质的产品可供选择。但人们买这个其实就是为了满足虚荣心。

Ravindra Munvar 3 hours ago
Shows how many dimwits are there around the world. Dedicated to all the Apple fans.

这说明全世界有多少傻瓜。献给所有的苹果迷。

Rajesh Singhal 3 hours ago
All the credit of the renowned company, the Apple, to have regained its lost name in the market goes to Steve Jobs. Had he not returned and assumed the chair of the CEO in 1997, the picture of the Apple would have faded by now.

苹果这家知名企业在市场中夺回了丢失的名气，这都要归功于史蒂夫·乔布斯。如果他没有在1997年重返苹果担任首席执行官，那么苹果早已销声匿迹了。

Another Fan 4 hours ago
Inspiring!

非常鼓舞人心!

Vinod 4 hours ago
Why so much Gun Gan of this company?

这家公司为什么有这么多枪手?

KAMAL 1 hours ago
260 Bn $ in cash many a country in world does not have aggregate cash to such extent

2600亿美元的现金，世界上还有许多国家没有这么多钱

Ankit 3 hours ago
All the credit goes to Mr. Steve Jobs....What a man...

这全归功于史蒂夫·乔布斯先生....一个人……

Baba Vickram Aditya Bedi 45 minutes ago
Another American company which is over valued on baseless valuations. What does this company actually manufacture or make? Job''s it''s founder didn''t invent anything. He was not an engineer. He took parts and put them together and made the Apple II, and later stole the GUI from Xerox and whipped his engineers to remake it. Today it is a smartphone branding consortium valued at 1 trillion dollars. Who are the fools that believe this valuation is real? How long can you sell a logo for 12 times more than it is worth?

这是又一家美国公司毫无根据的估值。这家公司到底生产什么?它的创始人乔布斯没有发明任何东西。他不是工程师。他把零件组装在一起，造出了Apple 2，然后从施乐公司偷了图形用户界面，并要求他的工程师复制出来。如今，这是一个价值1万亿美元的智能手机品牌联盟。有哪些傻瓜相信这种估价是真实的?你贴个商标，就要卖12倍的价钱，这种情况还能持续多久?

Makdxb 1 hours ago
Apple should suffer since the played dirty games against their competitors. But very bad effect of this, company takes advantage of it. However, none of the business keeps the same success always. So we will wait and watch

苹果对他们的竞争对手玩阴招，就该遭报应。但这带来了很坏的影响，公司利用了它。不过没有一家企业能永远保持同样的成功。所以我们拭目以待吧。

Remo Remo 1 hours ago
A perfect example of how one person can change the world. What we are in search for so long is such a leader.

这是一个完美的例子，一个人究竟可以怎样改变世界。我们长久以来寻找的就是这样一个领导人。

Amit G 2 hours ago
Wonderful news, Congrats to all Apple employees

好消息,恭喜所有苹果员工

PS Kumar 2 hours ago
Steve Job created a history, he will be always remembered by future generation if world will sustain. It does not matter about the losses, there is always up and down. Even someone can gain the capacity to buy earth, then it has that limit, and then he will start fall down. So, no need to worry about the losses, but continue to provide better technology to the world. You Apple one day again rise.

史蒂夫乔布斯创造了历史,他会永远被世人记住。损失并不重要，总是有起有落。即使有人能够拥有购买地球的能力，那么它也有限度，然后开始跌落。所以，不必担心损失，但要继续为世界提供更好的技术。你们苹果会再次雄起的。

Atilla Hun 3 hours ago
Check out the latest sales figures of premium cell phones ....Apple is heading south , nevertheless it has been a great journey for them

查看最新的高端手机销售数据....苹果正在向南进军，不过这对他们来说是一次伟大的旅程

Sambha Slayer 3 hours ago
Go Apple Go

苹果加油

Anurag 3 hours ago
Lets dance

来吧，让我们起舞吧

Amdavad 28 minutes ago
Iphone is overpriced just for companies profit. It's not always necessary for day to day life, iphone is just status symbol. Company will not last long at this level.

Iphone价格过高是为了公司利润。这并不是日常生活中的必备用品，iphone只是身份的象征。在这个层面上公司不可能持续太久。

Pappu Trolls 59 minutes ago
I love retina displays, color accuracy, premium looks - main reason i am a big Apple fan!

我爱视网膜显示器，颜色准确性，外观高大上——主要原因就是，我是苹果粉!

The Village Idiot 3 hours ago
Oh and Mr Idiot Trump, your Apples biggest customer is .

我的笨蛋特朗普先生，你的苹果最大的客户群是。

Smoking Kills Weed 3 minutes ago
Sir Issac Newton would be proud of this apple.

伊萨克牛顿爵士回会为这个苹果骄傲的。