Market cap is a popular metric for assessing the size of a company as a representation of the investing public's notion of the company's value. The figure is obtained by simply multiplying the number of shares the company has outstanding by the stock price. (Slivka, 2010)3.3 The learning curveAccess to distribution channels complements Apple's strategy. Unlike most of its competitors, Apple now seems to be seeking to establish a strong presence abroad. The United States accounts for 48% of its revenue, while Europe contributes only 21% and Asia less than 10%. While being a mass marketer, Apple maintains the appeal of a luxury product. Marketing innovation and differentiation of Apple products from its competitors has allowed Apple to maintain the top spot in terms of market share for its products. Innovation is the key word at Apple. With a growing number of retail stores, Apple keeps all of its products available to the consumer. 3.4 Five Forces Model 3.4.1 Threat of New Entrants In addition to these large companies, Apple always competes with new start-up companies. As noted, there have been many entrants into the various product lines as Apple continues its product lines. Economies of scale, product differentiation, capital requirements, switching costs, access to distribution channels, cost disadvantages and government policies are all barriers to entry in this industry . In some cases, large, well-financed companies have purchased fledgling companies to allow those companies to enter the product market. An example would be AT&T purchasing Cingular to gain access to the iPhone, because Cingular had negotiated a contract with Apple for exclusive rights to the new phone.3.4.2 Bargaining Power of Supply......mid paper.. ....ion of stakeholders as well as competitors. Threats from fierce competitors for market share, both domestically and globally, will continue to plague currently successful businesses. Since it is a very complex industry, so are the problems and threats. Regulatory agencies are currently addressing security issues faced by users and providers. Both Microsoft and Apple have been targets of regulatory scrutiny. In order to maintain its position, Apple must continue to differentiate itself in both music products and hardware and software. They need to address security vulnerabilities that hackers could exploit because they frequently use the Windows operating system. Between 1990 and 1998, hourly output increased the most in the computer and office equipment industry, among the manufacturing industries measured by the BLS..