Quote from: 101111 on September 17, 2013, 01:07:28 AM

Quote from: Vycid on September 16, 2013, 08:40:54 PM

You're a fucking moron. Do a google search for "biggest company". Wikipedia, CNN Money, Forbes - all use revenue.

Don't attempt to backpedal with some "oh, well, only value matters" argument. You said "size", I responded to that, then you attacked me for my ignorance, despite the fact you were clearly demonstrating your own, and that I provided evidence you were incorrect.

The point here is - 10% margin is quite good, on average. That is fact.

(Do a google search for "most valuable company" too.)

Are you really employed? Can you communicate with others in a work situation? I highly doubt it.

My co-workers do not make a habit of personal attacks, do not malign my credibility or my ability to reason, and give due consideration to my opinions and arguments.

That goes both ways, I should add. I have the privilege of working with some of the smartest folks around. Incredible things happen in this industry. We are doing things today that were widely considered impossible little more than a decade ago.

Quote from: 101111 on September 17, 2013, 01:07:28 AM

When someone referred to largest company in the world most of us I'm sure knew what he meant, and I'm betting you knew what he meant, but you had to add your qualifier after the fact, largest BY REVENUE, to prove (to yourself at least) you were right, again, as always.

Not that any are needed but there are plenty of authoritative sources that show YOU ARE WRONG eg Financial Times call Apple no 1. International Business Times list Exxon, Apple, Google, Microsoft.

Apple IS #1 in market cap. I would not dispute that point, since it is a matter of record, and since I can look it up just as easily as you can. As of the close of the NYSE today, Apple had a market cap of $408,932,669,640, and Exxon a market cap of $ 390,292,681,864.

However, Apple IS NOT the biggest company by any measure that could be considered a measure of "bigness". Not in terms of revenue, profit, employees, square footage, whatever. It only is the most VALUABLE company, based on the shares outstanding and the market price of those shares.

It should surprise nobody that a company with such a truly exceptional profit margin is so valuable. If there was a one-man operation where a wizard manufactured ~~25,000,000~~ 2,500,000 barrels of oil a day using nothing but his mind, and that company was publicly traded, that company would likely be the most valuable on Earth. You claim that would make it the biggest. I say you are wrong.

It was disingenuous for Aedius to use market cap as the metric for "biggest company" and then cite its profit margins, as if market cap and profit margins are unrelated. That was the point of the by-revenue rankings, which are much less correlated.

Quote from: 101111 on September 17, 2013, 01:07:28 AM

You're fond of linking to investopedia, so stick this up your a** http://www.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2012/is-apple-really-the-largest-company-ever-aapl-msft-xom-ptr0821.aspx.

(go on, twist it any way you choose)

Third sentence of that article (did you read it?): "Many headlines have since proclaimed that Apple has broken a record for the most valuable company ever."

The headline of this article was supposed to be attention-grabbing. Accuracy is sometimes a secondary objective in journalism, sadly.

Quote from: 101111 on September 17, 2013, 01:07:28 AM

Oh, and have you seen a doctor yet? Seriously, you need to talk to someone, it will be good for your long term investing, work and social life etc.

Have you considered how it reflects on your emotional health that you would jump at the opportunity to participate in someone else's personal attacks?

It's probably true that this experience is bad for my health, to be honest. This is a vicious, vitriolic community. Contrarian opinions - usually met with forthright and honest discourse in healthy, balanced circumstances - are instead met with ridicule and disdain. Bitcoin is riddled with infighting, unnecessary hostility, close-mindedness and tinfoil thinking, which is, on reflection, not good for the outlook of the whole ecosystem.

Edit: I got a little carried away with that oil-wizard thought experiment, since 25 million barrels a day would also give that operation the biggest revenue. 2.5 million barrels is a better example.