• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Current price of oil as of June 16, 2026

2

'Work hard, stay loyal, and the system will reward you': the Boomer credo is a Gen X betrayal and a Millennial pipe dream

3

Hundreds of Stanford students walked out of their grad ceremony to protest Google CEO’s commencement speech. It wasn’t all about AI

1

Current price of oil as of June 16, 2026

2

'Work hard, stay loyal, and the system will reward you': the Boomer credo is a Gen X betrayal and a Millennial pipe dream

3

Hundreds of Stanford students walked out of their grad ceremony to protest Google CEO’s commencement speech. It wasn’t all about AI
TechApple

Apple’s Bizarre Valuation: Something’s Got to Give

By
Philip Elmer-DeWitt
Philip Elmer-DeWitt
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Philip Elmer-DeWitt
Philip Elmer-DeWitt
Down Arrow Button Icon
January 5, 2016, 10:30 AM ET
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Two things are remarkable about the chart above, which compares the value of five leading tech companies by the securities market’s most fundamental measure: P/E (price per share divided by earnings per share over the past 12 months).

One remarkable thing is that Amazon’s P/E fits into the chart, something it does only in years when the company turns a profit. CEO Jeff Bezos’ preference is to pour whatever cash his virtual storefront generates into assaults on new brick-and-mortar markets. When Amazon’s earnings are zero or negative—as they often are—the company’s P/E ratio zooms to infinity.

Another remarkable thing is how far out of whack is Apple’s P/E compared with the four horsemen of tech.

Amazon (AMZN), by today’s valuation, is worth 80 Apples (AAPL). Facebook (FB) is worth nine. Microsoft (MSFT) and Google (GOOG) are each worth roughly three.

“Something,” wrote Jean-Louis Gassée in this week’s Monday Note, “will have to give.”

SIGN UP: Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s daily newsletter about the business of technology.

One more chart, while I have your attention. It compares the same five companies by the billions of dollars in cash they generated in their most recent fiscal year. It is almost the reverse of the P/E chart. Apple generated 11 times as much cash as Facebook, eight times Amazon, and three times Google and Microsoft.

Screen Shot 2016-01-05 at 6.30.27 AM

“One of the big four will falter in 2016,” predicts Fred Wilson, one of New York’s most prominent venture capitalists (Twitter, Tumblr, Kickstarter, etc.), without specifying which four companies he means.

“My guess,” he says, “is Apple. They did not have a great year in 2015 and I’m thinking that it will get worse in 2016.”

Huh?

I’m just a lay observer, but it seems to me that if the market reflected reality, any faltering this year would be more likely to come from Amazon’s end of spectrum, where the P/Es are high and cash flow—at least compared with Apple—relatively low. Querying Wilson for his analysis.

 

WATCH: For more on Apple, check out the following Fortune video:

Follow Philip Elmer-DeWitt on Twitter at @philiped. Read his Apple coverage at fortune.com/ped or subscribe via his RSS feed.

About the Author
By Philip Elmer-DeWitt
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

Brinker’s CIO spent years rebuilding restaurant tech. Now, the Chili’s operator is ready to explore more AI
NewslettersCIO Intelligence
Brinker’s CIO spent years rebuilding restaurant tech. Now, the Chili’s operator is ready to explore more AI
By John KellJune 17, 2026
2 hours ago
jensen
AINvidia
Jensen Huang on his relationship with Trump: ‘calls me in the middle of the night’
By Josh Boak and The Associated PressJune 17, 2026
3 hours ago
Ned Koh turns in his chair, smiling.
AIBrainstorm Tech
A 21-year-old cofounder’s sales pitch to clients begs them to question the company’s results: ‘Do not trust us. Do not trust our model’
By Eva RoytburgJune 17, 2026
3 hours ago
Aravind Srinivas, co-founder and chief executive officer of Perplexity
SuccessCareers
‘I have nothing to lose’: Perplexity CEO says fear of failure is ‘the stupidest thing’ holding you back
By Emma BurleighJune 17, 2026
3 hours ago
Steve Ballmer
SuccessCareers
Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer once mocked Google Chrome, calling it a ‘rounding error’—Google CEO says the jab became fuel to keep going
By Preston ForeJune 17, 2026
4 hours ago
bores
PoliticsElections
OpenAI’s backers spent $7.6 million to destroy a state legislator. Anthropic spent $10 million to rescue him
By Matt Brown, Anthony Izaguirre, Nicholas Riccardi and The Associated PressJune 17, 2026
4 hours ago

Most Popular

Current price of oil as of June 16, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 16, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 16, 2026
1 day ago
'Work hard, stay loyal, and the system will reward you': the Boomer credo is a Gen X betrayal and a Millennial pipe dream
Success
'Work hard, stay loyal, and the system will reward you': the Boomer credo is a Gen X betrayal and a Millennial pipe dream
By Nick LichtenbergJune 16, 2026
1 day ago
Hundreds of Stanford students walked out of their grad ceremony to protest Google CEO’s commencement speech. It wasn’t all about AI
Big Tech
Hundreds of Stanford students walked out of their grad ceremony to protest Google CEO’s commencement speech. It wasn’t all about AI
By Tristan BoveJune 15, 2026
2 days ago
Cursor’s 25-year-old CEO is a former Google intern who just cemented a $60 billion deal with SpaceX
AI
Cursor’s 25-year-old CEO is a former Google intern who just cemented a $60 billion deal with SpaceX
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJune 16, 2026
1 day ago
Melinda French Gates' advice to new IPO millionaires: 'Give half your money away'
Startups & Venture
Melinda French Gates' advice to new IPO millionaires: 'Give half your money away'
By Emma HinchliffeJune 13, 2026
4 days ago
Team USA star Ricardo Pepi grew up in a trailer in El Paso—and his parents pawned their car title to fuel his soccer dream. Now, he’s in the World Cup
Success
Team USA star Ricardo Pepi grew up in a trailer in El Paso—and his parents pawned their car title to fuel his soccer dream. Now, he’s in the World Cup
By Preston ForeJune 15, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.