Founders and Early History of Apple
Apple Inc. was co-founded on April 1, 1976, by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne in Los Altos, California. The company was formally incorporated on January 3, 1977, with Jobs, Wozniak, and Wayne as the original shareholders. Wayne sold his 10% stake back to the company within 12 days for $800, a decision that later became one of the most widely cited examples of a missed fortune in business history. Apple went public on December 12, 1980, at $22 per share, generating more capital than any IPO since Ford Motor Company in 1956, according to historical records Forbes.
Steve Jobs served as chairman and later CEO, guiding the company through the launch of the Macintosh in 1984 and the creation of NeXT in 1985. Steve Wozniak, the engineering co-founder, designed the Apple I and Apple II computers that established the company in the personal computing market. Ronald Wayne, the third co-founder, drafted the original partnership agreement and created the first Apple logo. After leaving Apple in 1985, Jobs returned in 1997 when Apple acquired NeXT, eventually becoming interim CEO and then permanent CEO SEC.
Current Leadership and Corporate Structure
As of the latest public filings, Tim Cook has served as Chief Executive Officer of Apple Inc. since August 24, 2011, succeeding Steve Jobs, who passed away on October 5, 2011. Arthur D. Levinson has been Chairman of the Board since 2011, with Al Gore joining the board in 2003 and serving as a director. The company's executive leadership team includes Luca Maestri as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Katherine Adams as Senior Vice President and General Counsel, and Deirdre O'Brien as Senior Vice President of Retail and People Forbes.
Apple Inc. is headquartered at Apple Park in Cupertino, California, and operates as a publicly traded company on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the ticker AAPL. The company's board of directors currently includes Tim Cook, Arthur D. Levinson, Al Gore, James Bell, Alex Gorsky, Andrea Jung, and Monica Lozano. Apple's corporate structure is organized around a holding company model, with Apple Inc. serving as the central entity overseeing operations in hardware, software, services, and wearables SEC.
Key Milestones and Financial Overview
Apple became the first publicly traded U.S. company to reach a $1 trillion market capitalization in August 2018, and it has since crossed that threshold multiple times. The company's revenue for fiscal year 2024 was approximately $391 billion, driven by strong sales of the iPhone, Mac, iPad, and Wearables, Home,