AAPL vs. MSFT

So we all have heard the reports over the past summer and these first winter months: Apple's stock is doing well. I'd like to forget the questions of "how can they keep this up" and "what happens next" for just a moment, and instead look at what the stock has done over the past five years, especially when compared to Microsoft over the same time period (just for the sheer glee that's in it).

Reader Peter Koritschan, who works for UBS (the bank which recently gave Apple stock an estimated price target of $74US per share), was kind enough to produce some graphs for us. When viewing the chart above, consider that the original 5GB iPod was introduced in October of 2001, the 2G iPods in April of 2003, and the iPod photo in October of 2004. Also, the iTunes Music Store had its debut in October of 2003, and the G5 iMac showed up in August of 2004.

Microsoft had...um...Windows ME, XP? Just to reiterate, up is good and down is bad, right? More charts after the jump.

Apple vs. Dell

Apple vs. Dell and Microsoft

Apple vs. Dell, IBM, Microsoft and Google