Market capitalization is a popular metric for evaluating 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 outstanding shares of the company by the share price. (Slivka, 2010)3.3 The Learning CurveAccess to distribution channels complements Apple's strategy. Unlike most competitors, Apple just now seems to be looking for a strong presence abroad. The United States accounts for 48% of its revenue, while Europe contributes only 21% and Asia less than 10%. Despite being a mass marketing company, Apple maintains the allure of a luxury good. Apple's marketing innovation and product differentiation from its competitors have kept Apple at the top of market shares for its products. Innovation is the key word at Apple. With an increasing number of retail stores, Apple keeps all of its products in front of the consumer. 3.4 Five Forces Model 3.4.1 Threat of New Entrants In addition to these large companies, Apple is always competing with new start-up companies. As indicated, numerous competitors in the various product lines have come and gone as Apple continued with 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 into this industry. In some cases, large, well-funded companies have purchased nascent companies to allow those companies to enter the product market. An example would be AT&T who reportedly bought Cingular to gain access to the iPhone, as Cingular had negotiated a contract with Apple for exclusive rights to the new phone.3.4.2 Bargaining power of suppliers...... half of the paper .. ....ion by stakeholders and competitors. Threats from fierce competitors for market share both domestically and globally will continue to plague currently successful companies. Because it is such a complex industry, the problems and threats are also complex. Regulatory agencies are currently addressing the security issues faced by users and vendors. Microsoft and Apple have both come under regulatory scrutiny. To sustain its position, Apple must continue to pursue differentiation in both the music products and computer hardware-software arenas. They face security vulnerabilities that hackers could exploit since they often use the Windows operating system. Between 1990 and 1998, output per hour increased the most in the computer and office equipment industries among manufacturing industries measured by BLS.