Apple Inc. is an international corporation that designs, manufactures, and markets a range of mobile communication and media devices, personal computing products, and portable digital music players, as well as a variety of related software, networking solutions, and hardware products. In the assets section of its 2014 balance sheet, the following data were presented:

Instructions
(a) For a company such as Apple, what do you think its most important economic resource is? Where is this recorded on the balance sheet? At what value (if any) should it be shown?
(b) Do the assets reported on the balance sheet above tell you what Apple is worth? What information does the balance sheet give you about the company's value?

Transcribed Image Text:

APPLE INC. Balance Sheets (partial) (in U.S. millions) September 27, Cash and cash equivalents Short-term marketable securities Accounts receivable, less allowance Deferred tax assets Vendor non-trade receivables Long-term marketable securities Property, plant and equipment, net Acquired intangible assets, net