Return to 1958 and build a century-old giant

Chapter 844 Net Profit of $5 Million

Nasdaq is currently much smaller than the Dow Jones, but its smaller size has its advantages. It is mainly composed of technology companies, which makes it easy for global investors who focus on technology companies to find suitable investment targets here.

Early in the morning, the main entrance was already packed with a dense crowd of stock market investors, representatives of investment institutions, and reporters from all sides.
When the bell rang, Apple's stock officially went public and was immediately sought after by countless investors. Many small shareholders cheered.
The stock price gradually rose from the initial $12, and within an hour it was close to $14. The speed of the increase was so fast that even if it didn't break the record in American history, it should be close.

"It's really lively here," Yang Wendong said with a smile. American stock investors are just as keen on stocks as those in Hong Kong, if not more so.

After all, many people in Hong Kong still like to speculate on real estate. But in the United States, due to its longer development history, larger size, and property taxes, there's not much to speculate on. In the US, apart from major cities, housing prices are not very high relative to wages. Of course, taxes are another matter, but in reality, all taxes are the same.

Steve Jobs confidently stated, "Of course. You have no idea how many people were chasing after Apple during the previous roadshows. Today, only a small portion of them are here. Most people are buying by phone."

"It seems our profits today must be quite good." Yang Wendong then asked, "Apple should have raised a considerable amount of funds today. What are Apple's big plans for the future?"

Jobs glanced at Yang Wendong, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Of course, we should develop better computers. Nowadays, IBM, Texas Instruments, HP, and many other companies are launching their own personal computers."
Although the iPhone 3 sold well, it will soon be overtaken if there are no new products.
Eric, you're a competitor now, so this is all I can tell you. Unless you agree to let Apple acquire your computer business, then you can become a director at Apple. How about it?

"Haha, then forget it. I also want to have my own business, not just simple investments," Yang Wendong said with a smile, declining the offer.

If nothing unexpected happens, he will gradually sell off his Apple shares in the near future, because history is very similar to the past.
Apple faces many competitors, especially the formidable rival IBM. In addition, according to his sources, Jobs was not well-liked within Apple, partly due to his arrogant personality and partly due to his withholding of many employees' original stock options, which caused dissatisfaction within Apple's technical departments.

These internal factors are not a major problem at present because Apple is developing rapidly, but this powder keg will explode as soon as Apple shows signs of decline.

"Fine, whatever you say." Jobs didn't say anything more.
Actually, he didn't care much about Yang Wendong's Glory Electronics. After all, there are so many computer companies in the world now, one more won't make a difference. Besides, apart from the latest split design which is somewhat creative, Glory's computers aren't very strong in terms of technological applications, except for a few games.

Woz said, "Eric, let's discuss the collaboration later."

“Okay, it’s almost noon, let’s eat and chat.” Yang Wendong nodded in agreement.

Jobs said, "Then you guys go ahead. I've already made arrangements with other investment firms and people from Nasdaq."

"Sure, you go ahead and do your thing." Yang Wendong didn't mind. Jobs was now a top business figure in the United States, so he was naturally very busy. In comparison, Wozniak, the person behind him, was much more relaxed.

Soon, Yang Wendong and Woz found a steakhouse nearby, each ordered a steak, and started chatting.

Woz said, "Eric, I want to buy your game patent."

“Sure, we can discuss anything you want regarding games. Just send someone directly to Hong Kong,” Yang Wendong agreed. “Not just you, but IBM or other companies, as long as they want games, I’ll sell them to them.”

Wozniak exclaimed in surprise, "Why? I thought you would only let your own computers use these games? Wouldn't that be better? People who play games will buy your computers!"

"Haha, that's not my business principle. The business departments of my companies are also independent. Games are games, computers are computers. They will cooperate with each other, but each is responsible for itself." Yang Wendong didn't explain much.

In this era, many people still believe that hardware is what makes money, and software is just a supplementary component.

Therefore, if they develop good software, they will keep it on their own computers and not share it with other companies, selling the computer hardware and software as a single package.

That's how Apple operates, and that's what Steve Jobs always insisted on. Of course, it's hard to say whether it's right or wrong, because Apple made a fortune with this strategy in the future, but in this era, Apple was overtaken by Microsoft. It can only be said that the times and the factors of management are different, so there is no accurate answer.

“I see.” Woz didn’t ask any more questions, and added, “Besides gaming, I’d also like to buy your mouse patent; your middle button is quite good.”

“That’s possible, but there’s no need for all that trouble. Why don’t you just ask us to buy the mice?” Yang Wendong said, “After you buy the patent, you’ll still have to commission a factory in the US to produce them.”

But wouldn't it be more convenient and cheaper if I manufactured it directly in Hong Kong and sold it to you along with the patent license?

In fact, Honor Electronics itself no longer manufactures these small items; they are all outsourced to contract manufacturers in Hong Kong and Taiwan. However, the company is still responsible for the overall operations.

Woz nodded and said, "That's a good idea."

"Haha, then I wish us a pleasant cooperation." Yang Wendong raised his glass and laughed.

“It’s a pleasure working with you.” Wozniacki also raised his glass.

The two chatted casually over their meal, discussing not only cooperation but also the future direction of computer development.
One was a top-tier tech expert, and the other was a time traveler who knew the future; they were very engrossed in their conversation. Of course, Yang Wendong wouldn't reveal too much about future development directions.
By the afternoon, the 600 million shares released earlier that morning were no longer sufficient for market circulation. Therefore, Apple executives negotiated with investment institutions and released another 200 million shares to increase liquidity and boost Apple's IPO revenue.

Ultimately, by the close of trading that day, Apple's stock was worth $20.8 per share, a surge of 73.3%, and its total market capitalization exceeded $21.2 billion, with the IPO raising a total of $2.45 million.
This became Ford's largest IPO since its listing, more than double the number of its predecessors. Of course, even with inflation, it still can't compare. Today, Apple's influence is still not as great as Ford's back then.

The automotive industry has always been the crown jewel.
But this has already broken records in the United States and even the world. This day will surely be recorded in the annals of the global financial and computer industries.

Yang Wendong previously held 31.3% of the shares. After the IPO, 20% of the liquidity was released, leaving him with 25% of the shares. Based on today's market value, this is worth a total of $5 million, making him Apple's largest individual shareholder, even more so than Steve Jobs in terms of shareholding. This information is fully disclosed within the listed company, meaning that the entire US media, and in the future, Hong Kong media, will inevitably know about this.

Yang Wendong was prepared for this, as his name appears in the publicly listed company information of Intel and Walmart. However, even Intel's reputation is not as good as Apple's recently. Apple has been idolized by the American media and enjoys immense popularity, just like Steve Jobs.

What really annoys Americans is that Apple's largest individual shareholder is a foreigner.
In the evening, Yang Wendong attended Apple's ball with Steve Jobs and others. With such a successful IPO, it was natural to celebrate.

Many media outlets also came to report, including Hong Kong's Oriental Daily News. This was with Yang Wendong's special permission, since he couldn't keep this matter a secret from Hong Kong anyway, so he might as well let his newspaper reveal it.

Apple executives also speak publicly in front of the media because Apple needs more attention. Sufficient attention is a form of free advertising, so even if the company's products are mediocre, more people will buy them. In my previous life in mainland China, there was a mobile phone and car company that operated in the same way.
Yang Wendong was also interviewed by Oriental Daily News, where he answered some questions. These were all prepared in advance to avoid uncontrolled reporting by the Hong Kong media.

After the party was nearly over, Jobs approached Yang Wendong and said, "Eric, do you remember our agreement about your shares?"

“I remember. Don’t worry, I won’t force a board seat; after all, we’re competitors,” Yang Wendong replied.

He himself did not want to be involved in the future operation of Apple, because in the next few years, Jobs' relationship with many senior executives and board members would be very strained, and he held a large number of shares and did not want to get involved.

Furthermore, once you become a board member, according to US law, if you want to sell company stock, you have to announce it in advance, and there are many legal restrictions. This is simply asking for trouble.

Most importantly, he also has other companies in the same industry. If he is complained about, he will still not be able to remain on the board of directors, and may even get involved in legal disputes.

Jobs said, "Okay, I want all your voting rights in your stock to go to me."

"Are there people opposing you within Apple?" Yang Wendong retorted.

Jobs said, "You may not understand Wall Street capital, but they are too fond of pursuing short-term gains, while I care about the longer term. We had already had conflicts before that."

Yang Wendong asked curiously, "What kind of conflict?"

Jobs said, “It’s fine to tell you. They want us to launch a new computer as soon as possible, but I don’t want to. My point is, if we’re going to do something, we’re going to do it to the best of our ability.”
Now that we have money after the IPO, I want to start a new project to build the perfect personal computer, but that requires a lot of investment and time. I think many board members won't agree, so I need your voting rights.

"I see." Yang Wendong nodded, then said, "I can give you my voting rights, but only for the next three months."

It seems that, just as in history, Jobs still pursued perfection.

This wasn't necessarily wrong, but it might not have been feasible in the early 80s. After all, other companies were constantly launching new products, while Jobs stubbornly stuck to a single approach, spending hundreds of millions of dollars to develop a personal computer that cost $8000.

Is it perfect? ​​It is perfect. It is said to have strong performance, crushing all its competitors on the market; but the price is too high, completely not what the market needs, and then it completely flopped.

This is also one of the main reasons why Jobs was ousted from the board and why Apple eventually declined.

"Three months, why?" Jobs asked rhetorically.

Yang Wendong said, "Because in three months, according to US law, I may change my Apple shares, which I am not sure about right now, so I can only give you this much time for now."

Previously, he wouldn't have been sure whether to sell his Apple stock in three months, but now Jobs's request was that he be ready to let go.

Apple will inevitably face internal conflicts in the future, perhaps with some differences from the past, but the outcome should be similar. From an economic perspective, cashing out and leaving is the most cost-effective option.

Furthermore, if Honor computers develop well in the future, his ownership of too many shares in Apple could cause considerable controversy.
"Okay, three months it is then." Jobs nodded;
In three months, he could control the board of directors, which would be enough to push the project forward. Once the project started, even if he lost absolute control of the board, the die would be cast, and the board would have no way to veto it. Besides, even at that point, he would still have enough power.

Yang Wendong said, "Okay, I will prepare an authorization document for you."

This can be seen as giving Jobs face. On the one hand, he earned $5 million for me, and Apple's market value will rise further in the future, so it will only be more. On the other hand, I also consider that if Jobs is ousted in a few years, he will start a new company, namely an animation and film company, and I can participate in it and invest again. This is related to the film industry that I care about, so it's a win-win situation.

"Thank you," Jobs said with a smile.

Yang Wendong nodded and said, "You're welcome."

Apple's IPO caused a huge stir in the US financial industry, and the same was true in other parts of the world.
Hong Kong would not normally care about the situation of such companies, but Yang Wendong, as a major shareholder of Apple with shares worth $5 million, suddenly ignited public opinion in Hong Kong.

No one could have imagined that Yang Wendong had invested in Apple in his early years, and now he has earned almost a quarter of the Hong Kong government's fiscal revenue.

PS: Please give me a monthly ticket
(End of this chapter)