cross pond high tech

Apple had the highest annual profit of any company in history for its fiscal year, which ended September 30. Can anybody else catch up?

Probably not anytime soon. This chart from Statista shows how far ahead Apple is compared with the rest of the tech industry. Apple's quarterly profit was more than the combined profits of Microsoft and Alphabet (Google). No other tech company came close.

Global tablet shipments are rising, but a new report from Strategy Analytics says Apple's tablet market share continues to slip, despite its utter dominance just a few years ago. Based on Strategy Analytics data charted for us by BI Intelligence, the iPad's global market share dropped 20%, from a 32.6% share in 2013 to 26.1% in 2014.

Strategy Analytics says the leading tablet makers can no longer "rely on inertia alone" as other smaller players are beginning to offer cheaper tablets with competitive features. But Apple CEO Tim Cook is still confident in the iPad, especially in businesses: Last month, he said the company's partnership with IBM could help "move the dial" with sales, and the rumored 12-inch iPad could certainly improve Apple's tablet market share, especially if it offers businesspeople more features for advanced productivity.