Average Man Hours (2)

Delivered February 14th, 2020. Contributors: Josh T. and

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Tesla

We were able to find the annual revenue and employee count for Tesla from 2008 to present. We could not find either data point for years 2003 through 2007. All the data we were able to find is included in the attached spreadsheet. 
Research StrategyAll the data provided for years 2008 to present was expressly provided and thus did not require any estimates or assumptions. With regard to annual revenue and employee counts for 2003 through 2007 (that we ultimately weren't able to find), we looked for that information by using three research strategies. First, we reviewed Tesla's investor relations documents published on its website, such as annual SEC filings that stated the company's annual revenue and employee count. While those documents date back to 2005, the reports we sought (from 2003-2007) either weren't able to be viewed or didn't provide the information we were looking for. Second, we checked databases such as Macro Trends and Statista for that information. While there was revenue and employee-count data for Tesla within those sources, neither of those sources provided such data for years 2003-2007. Third, we conducted broad searches for any articles that might have mentioned the company's annual revenue and/or employee count for any of the years from 2003-2007. That research approach also did not yield either of the data points for any of the years (2003-2007), as the only mentions we found of such in articles were from years 2008 or later. Accordingly, we entered NA in the respective cells of the spreadsheet for years 2003-2007.

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Apple (1)

We were able to find Apple's annual revenue for all but two of the years (1976 and 1983) from 1976 to 1997 (Apple appears to have first published its revenue in 1977). We were able to find employee counts for 11 of the years from 1976 to 1997. All the annual revenue and employee count data we were able to find is included in the attached spreadsheet.
Research StrategyWith regard to the data points we weren’t able to find, we implemented three research approaches in looking for that information. First, we reviewed Apple’s annual reports and SEC filings published on its website. Those filings date back to 1994 and we cited to such reports from 1994-1997. However, those filings didn’t provide us with data prior to 1994, which constituted most of the years we were looking for. Second, we checked databases such as YCharts and Statista for that information. Through YCharts, we were able to find annual revenue dating back to 1984, but no further. However, neither YCharts nor Statista provided employee counts for any of the years from 1976-1997. Third, we conducted broad searches for any articles that might have mentioned the company’s annual revenue and/or employee count for any of the years between 1976 and 1997. We were able to find quite a few of those data points through articles published by sources such as Fast Company, Inc. Magazine, and Tech Republic, among others. Though articles provided us with quite a few of those data points, we didn't find any articles that provided such data points for several of the years from 1976-1997. After conducting thorough research through those approaches, we entered NA in the respective cells of the spreadsheet from 1976-1997 that we couldn’t find information for.

For the employee counts from 1994-1997, Apple reported its number of full-time employees and contractors/part-time employees separately. We added those values together for each year, in order to arrive at the total number of employees. We ensured that approach aligned with employee counts provided by another source (Macro Trends) we used for later years that provided pre-compiled employee counts by checking to see if our method yielded the same employee count provided by Macro Trends for a given year, which it did. In so doing, we were able to determine that Apple's employee counts provided by Macro Trends account for part-time employees and contractors in the totals, which is why we did the same.

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Apple (2)

We found Apple's annual revenue and employee counts for each year from 1998 through 2019, all of which is included in the attached spreadsheet.
Research StrategyFor the employee counts for 1998 through 2004, Apple reported its number of full-time employees and contractors/part-time employees separately. We added those values together for each year, in order to arrive at the total number of employees. We ensured that approach aligned with employee counts provided by another source (Macro Trends) we used for later years that provided pre-compiled employee counts by checking to see if our method yielded the same employee count provided by Macro Trends for a given year, which it did. In so doing, we were able to determine that Apple's employee counts provided by Macro Trends account for part-time employees and contractors in the totals, which is why we did the same.

Sources