一年一度的《财富》（Fortune）美国500强榜单是根据当年营业总收入对美国企业进行排名的。《财富》美国500强与苹果公司（Apple）结缘始于1983年，当年苹果公司以排名411位首次进入该榜单。

    众所周知，一度遭苹果放逐的史蒂夫•乔布斯于1997年重返苹果公司；当时，苹果公司业绩每况愈下。但是人们往往忘了苹果公司业绩下滑了多么漫长的一段岁月，而乔布斯又花费了多少年的心血才扭转了公司的颓势。在上图中，尼古拉斯•拉普向我们清晰地展示了这一过程。

    如今，苹果公司重回《财富》美国500强前100行列，高居第35位，而乔布斯却已经永远地告别了苹果。

    译者：李淑玉/汪皓

    The annual Fortune 500 list, which ranks U.S. companies by their gross revenue, has been tracking Apple (AAPL) since 1983, when it showed up at No. 411.

    Everybody knows that Apple was in a downward slide when Steve Jobs returned from exile in 1997. What we tend to forget -- and what Nicolas Rapp's chart above makes clear -- is how long that slide continued, and how many years it took Jobs to turn the company around.

    When he died, Apple was once again a Fortune 100 company, ranked at No. 35.