I love this recent article, The Great Tech War of 2012 by Farhad Manjoo from the November 2012 issue of Fast Company.
The article provides several insights on how Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and Google, compete in numerous industries.
Plus, there are a number of great facts and statistics about each company. If you’re looking for an article packed with facts and figures about these companies, read on …
Here are some favorites:
1. 49 Days Before Killing H-P's TouchPad. H-P’s foray into the tablet market with its TouchPad lasted only 49 days.
2. $100 Billion in Revenues by 2015. When Amazon doubled in size from 2008 to 2010, it hit $34 billion in annual revenue. Analysts expect Amazon to achieve $100 billion in annual revenue by 2015, faster than any company ever.
3. 17,000 Motorola Mobility Patents. Google acquired Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion (along with Motorola Mobility’s 17,000 patents).
4. $30 Billion in Revenue. Google’s advertising business is on pace to earn $30 billion+ in 2011, almost double 2007’s revenue.
5. 250 Million Facebook Shares Daily. Facebook members share 250 million+ pictures a day.
6. 800 Million Facebook Members. Facebook has 800 million+ members (as of the article’s publication).
7. 11 Industries. Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and Google are disrupting eleven (11) diverse industries (and compete against each other in many of these industries):
- Mobile
- Communications
- Advertising / Marketing
- Local
- Retail
- Payments
- Entertainment
- Music
- Gaming
- Publishing / Media
- Cloud
8. $1.5 Billion from the Cloud. Apple’s iCloud service is projected to generate $1.5 billion.
9. $28.57 Billion in One Quarter. Apple generated $28,571,000,000 or $28.57 billion in the third quarter of 2011 (nearly double the $15.7 billion it booked in third quarter 2010.)
10. $1.6 Billion in Advertising Revenue. Facebook’s ad revenue business for the first half of 2011: $1.6 billion (double the amount during the same period in 2010).
11. 400 Million Facebook Members Log-In Everyday. Facebook’s membership is now 800 million+ users. 400 million+ users log in every single day.
12. 2 Billion Facebook Likes or Comments. 2 billion Facebook posts a day are “liked” or “commented upon.”
13. Apple and Android Rule Smartphones. According to Nielsen, Google’s Android powers about 40% of smartphones; 28% run Apple’s iOS.
14. $368 in Profit Per Phone Versus $10 Per Year Per Device. But, Apple makes a $368 profit on each iPhone. Google, on the other hand, makes less than $10 annually per device for the ads it places on Android phones and tablets.
15. 28 Projects Dead. At the time of the Fast Company article’s publication, Larry Page (Google's CEO) killed 28 underperforming projects.
16. 30% Growth. Google’s traditional ad business is averaging about 30% growth in 2011.
17. 64% Market Share in US Search. Google commanded 12.5 billion of the 19.5 billion total searches in the US in August 2011 according to comScore. That’s a 64% market share in the US.
18. $70 Billion Markets (Domestic Advertising and Cable TV). Two (2) key markets Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and Google each want a piece of the $70 billion in domestic ad revenue AND $74 billion in cable-subscriber fees.
19. 6,000 Patents from Nortel. A coalition that included Apple and Microsoft spent $4.5 billion to outbid Google for 6,000 mobile-related patents owned by Nortel.
20. 2,000 Patents from IBM. Google paid an undisclosed amount to purchase 2,000 patents from IBM.
21. 21 Years for Amazon Versus 34 Years for Wal Mart. Analysts predict Amazon will hit $100 billion in revenue by 2015. This achievement will result 21 years after the Jeff Bezos founded the company. In contrast, it took Walmart 34 years to achieve this benchmark.
22. Amazon Prime Means $900 Per Year Versus $400 Per Year. Amazon Prime customers spend an average of $900 per year on the Amazon site. In the year before a typical Amazon customer joins Amazon Prime, he/she spends $400 per year. Growth in the Amazon Prime customer segment is 50%+ annually.
23. Will $24 Billion Grow to $200 Billion? Facebook and Google directly compete in the $24 billion online display advertising business. Google believes this market will be a $200 billion per year market in the next few years.
Note: I added numbers 21 thru 23 a few days after I originally published this post.