Apple PESTEL Analysis

PESTEL is a strategic analytical tool and the acronym stands for political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal factors. Apple PESTEL analysis (or Apple PESTLE analysis) involves the analysis of potential impact of these factors on the bottom line and long-term growth prospects for the tech giant.   Political Factors in Apple PESTEL Analysis The extent to which Apple is able to achieve its primary objective of profit maximization depends on a wide range of political factors. These include government stability, level of bureaucracy, corruption, freedom of press, home market lobbying groups etc. Additionally, activities of trade unions can be mentioned as important external political factors for Apple.   Tax Payments The payment of taxes is a noteworthy political factor affecting Apple. The multinational technology company uses complex legal means to keep its tax payments as low as possible globally, especially in the US and Ireland. In the US, the tech giant holds the majority of its cash offshore so that it can avoid paying corporate income taxes in the US.[1] Any changes in government taxation policies may affect the bottom line for the iPhone maker. In Europe, European Commission concluded that Apple should have paid the Irish state at least €14 billion (USD 16.2 billion) in corporate tax for 2004-2014. However, in 2020 the General Court of the European Union ruled that European Commission was wrong, a decision that was welcomed by the Irish government.[2] Changes in taxation policies in general and the stance of governments and government agencies towards the iPhone maker in particular are external political factors that have implications for the business.   Dispute with US Federal Bureau of Investigations The most significant case that illustrates the potential impact of a political factor relates to Apple’s battle with US Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI). Specifically, the…