ECONOMY STUDIOIn fiscal 2025, Apple’s net sales were $416,161 million1. The iPhone alone was $209,586 million of that, half of everything Apple sold1,2. Services, which means the App Store, advertising, cloud storage, AppleCare and payments, were $109,158 million1,3.
That makes services about $26 of every $100 Apple sold4. But of every $100 of gross profit, the money left after the cost of what Apple sells and before research, marketing and overhead, $42 came from services4.
The phone: half of the sales
Apple sells one product more than any other. After the iPhone and services come wearables, home and accessories at $35,686 million, Mac at $33,708 million and iPad at $28,023 million1.
Hardware is a good business, but not a rich one by Apple’s standards. Of every $100 of products sold, $63 goes on the cost of making them and about $37 is left4. Apple’s gross margin on products was 36.8%5.
The services: three quarters left
Services work the other way. Of every $100 spent on services, about $25 goes on cost of sales and about $75 is left4. The gross margin on services was 75.4%5. That is before research, marketing, stores and overhead, which come out of both lines4.
Services are also growing. They were $85,200 million in 2023, $96,169 million in 2024 and $109,158 million in 2025, up 28% in two years2. Apple says the growth came from advertising, the App Store and cloud services3.
A rough way to see the toll: dividing 2025 services sales by the more than 2.5 billion active devices Apple reported in January 2026 gives about $44 of services per device in the year6,7. That is our estimate, not an Apple figure, because a person can own several devices6.
Google’s check
One of the biggest checks is for a setting. A U.S. court found that Google’s revenue share payment to Apple was an estimated $20 billion in 20228. In 2020 the payment was equivalent to 17.5% of Apple’s operating profit8. The court said Google pays Apple more in revenue share than it pays all of its other partners combined9.
Neither company reports the amount. Apple’s annual report says only that it earns revenue from licensing arrangements with Google and that they are subject to investigations and legal proceedings10.
In the remedies ruling, Google may keep paying for default placement in Safari, but it can no longer make the deal exclusive and cannot lock in a default for more than one year11. Google appealed on May 22, 2026, calling the deal “lawful competition, not anticompetitive exclusion”11,12.
The lock
The reason the toll works is the installed base. Apple said in January 2026 that it had more than 2.5 billion active devices, up from 2.35 billion a year earlier7. Each one is a customer who can be offered services.
Court exhibits in Epic’s case show how Apple executives saw it. An email from 2013 reported by MacRumors said iMessage on Android would “remove [an] obstacle to iPhone families giving their kids Android phones”13. These are exhibits Epic put to the court, not findings, and they show what was written, not what Apple decided13,14.
The tolls are in court
Apple’s standard App Store commission has long been 30 percent, or 15 percent for developers earning under $1 million a year15. In the United States, a court found on April 30, 2025 that Apple had violated an order against charging a commission or fee on purchases made outside an app16.
The Supreme Court agreed on June 30, 2026 to hear Apple’s appeal, and a ruling is expected by June 202717. Meanwhile Apple operates under a court ruling affecting link-out purchases, its chief financial officer said on the July 30 call17. In Europe, the Commission fined Apple €500 million on April 23, 2025 in a case about App Store steering18.
Apple’s latest quarter shows the business still growing. Services were $30.7 billion in the June 2026 quarter, up 12%, though Apple saw more softness in mobile gaming in the App Store19.
What it means for you
Your $100 does not go the same way everywhere. Spend it on an iPhone and about $37 is left for Apple after the cost of making it4. Spend it on an App Store purchase or an iCloud plan and about $75 is4. The device opens the door, and the services collect from it year after year.
This is an explanation of how the numbers work, not a view on Apple. Apple reports fiscal fourth-quarter results on Monday, November 2, with John Ternus as chief executive for the first time20.
