Apple 2014 vs. Microsoft 2000
The value propositions of an investment in AAPL today vs. Microsoft in 2000 are starkly different. Today AAPL is the largest weighted component of the Nasdaq Composite, Nasdaq-100 and the various ETFs that track the performance of the index, such as Powershares QQQ (QQQ). AAPL accounts for 12.5% of the value of the index. Similarly, MSFT held the largest weight in '00 and accounted for 10.75%.
Take a look at the juxtaposition between the two largest components of the index. Critics of AAPL bemoan lack of innovation, lack of pipeline and shrinking margins. Still, AAPL's most recent FY revenues were more than 7x those of MSFT in '00. Similarly, at its most recent peak, AAPL traded at 14x P/E (TTM) and an astonishingly low 3.04x sales. Compare that to the excess that defined '00 - MSFT traded at 67.4x P/E and 28.8x P/S. An argument can be made for the real growth MSFT was experiencing, but a look at the company's financials from '98 through '00 show deceleration in growth (both top and bottom line). And while there are many bears on AAPL's growth forecasts, the company continues to push forward - the street estimates FY '14 +5.8% revenues and +7.6% EPS. Finally, at the time of the MSFT peak the company paid no cash dividend on the common stock while AAPL has reversed that trend in recent years under the leadership of Tim Cook - they rewarded shareholders with a 2.3% yield and stock repurchases and plan on carrying that forward, thanks in part to a balance sheet with more than 6x cash, equivalents and marketable securities than MSTF maintained in '00.
e pensare che quando ilsilvio ha detto "stampiamo €" lo hanno deriso 
