Apple Inc. When investors are determining whether to invest in a company they must first look into the financial statements of the firm. Here they can find information on how the company has performed in the past as well as get an idea as to how the company will perform in the future. Apple Inc. is a technology firm who sells products such as the iPod, iPhone, and personal computers. One of their advantages over competition is that they often are innovators in every segment that they compete in. They developed the first smart phone, all purpose tablet, and music storage device. Their ability to stay ahead of the competition and release their products into the market place first has allowed them to gain an uncanny amount of customer loyalty. Once a customer begins using an Apple product they are highly unlikely to switch to a different product. The downside to this is that if Apple happens to fall behind in their innovation and another company releases new technology before them, then there might be a lack of confidence that occurs by investors. For nearly a decade Apple has pioneered almost all major changes in technology, and if they were to miss something investors might become scared, especially with the recent passing of their CEO and leader, Steve Jobs. Over the past 5 years Apple has been steadily expanding in all areas. On average their sales have increased by 42%, with their largest growth occurring in 2011 with a 66% increase from the previous year. For investors, this is extremely important because not only have they been steadily increasing their sales, but this past year was their largest increase, which shows that they will not be slowing down anytime soon. Another number from their financials that really jumped out at me was their Research and Development. In the past they always allocated around 3% of total sale to this department, but because