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Consumer Electronics AAPL

Apple (AAPL) Free Cash Flow History: Quarterly Data (2017–2025)

Apple quarterly free cash flow from 2017 Q1 through 2025 Q4. FCF = operating cash flow minus capex. Apple's FCF reached $118.7B in 2024, the highest in company history.

Free Cash Flow USD
QuarterFree Cash Flow (USD)YoY Change

Source: SEC EDGAR XBRL (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities - PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment). Quarters marked * are derived (annual filing minus prior three quarters). Calendar year quarters shown.

Apple Free Cash Flow: 2017–2025

Apple (AAPL) generated $27.0 billion in free cash flow in Q4 2025 (October–December 2025). Free cash flow (FCF) is operating cash flow minus capital expenditures — the cash available after maintaining and expanding the physical asset base. It is the primary source of capital for Apple’s buyback programme, dividends, acquisitions, and balance sheet management.

Full-year 2024 free cash flow reached $118.7 billion, a record for Apple and one of the highest FCF totals ever reported by any company in a single year. Full-year 2025 FCF of $89.1 billion reflects the OCF normalisation plus a modest increase in capital investment.

Apple Annual Free Cash Flow by Year

YearValueYoY Change
2025$89.1B-24.9%
2024$118.7B+50.3%
2023$79.0B-4.0%
2022$82.3B+25.1%
2021$65.8B-4.9%
2020$69.2B+39.5%
2019$49.6B-10.0%
2018$55.1B—

Calendar year totals (Q1–Q4). Source: SEC EDGAR XBRL. 2017 excluded due to partial data.

Apple has returned over $700 billion to shareholders since 2012 through buybacks and dividends, funded almost entirely by free cash flow. The buyback programme is extraordinary in scale: Apple has spent more on share repurchases than the entire market capitalisation of most Fortune 500 companies. This capital return has reduced the diluted share count by over 40%, amplifying EPS growth substantially above net income growth.

FCF conversion from net income is very high at Apple — typically 130–160% in normal years — because depreciation and stock-based compensation are large non-cash charges that increase OCF without reducing FCF. Apple’s capital expenditure is modest for a company its size (typically $8–12 billion annually), primarily data centres, retail stores, and manufacturing tooling rather than heavy industrial assets.

The 2024 FCF record of $118.7 billion reflects both the working capital swing that boosted OCF and disciplined capex management. At this FCF level, Apple could theoretically buy back approximately 2.5% of its market capitalisation every quarter from internal cash generation alone.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Apple’s free cash flow for 2024?

Apple generated $118.7 billion in free cash flow in full-year 2024, the highest annual FCF in Apple’s history and one of the highest ever reported by any public company.

How does Apple use its free cash flow?

Apple primarily uses free cash flow for share buybacks (the largest programme of any public company), dividends, and modest acquisitions. Apple has returned over $700 billion to shareholders since 2012 through these mechanisms.

What is free cash flow vs. operating cash flow?

Free cash flow = operating cash flow minus capital expenditures. Apple’s capex is typically $8–12 billion annually, so FCF is roughly 85–95% of operating cash flow. FCF represents cash truly available for capital allocation after maintaining and growing the business.

What is Apple’s free cash flow yield?

Free cash flow yield = FCF divided by market capitalisation. With $89.1 billion in 2025 FCF and a market cap above $3 trillion, Apple’s FCF yield is approximately 2.7–3.0%. This is modest by historical standards but reflects the premium investors place on the consistency and quality of Apple’s cash generation.

Data sourced from SEC EDGAR XBRL. FCF = NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities minus PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment. Quarterly values derived from YTD filings. Last updated: April 2026.