Apple (AAPL) Gross Margin History: Quarterly Data (2017–2025)
Apple quarterly gross margin percentage from 2017 Q1 through 2025 Q4. How Apple's gross margin has expanded from 38% to 48% as Services revenue has grown.
| Quarter | Gross Margin (%) | YoY Change |
|---|
Source: SEC EDGAR XBRL (GrossProfit/Revenue). Quarters marked * are derived (annual filing minus prior three quarters). Calendar year quarters shown.
Apple Gross Margin: 2017–2025
Apple (AAPL) reported a quarterly gross margin of 48.2% in Q4 2025 (October–December 2025), up from 46.9% in Q4 2024 — an all-time high in Apple’s modern history. Gross margin is gross profit divided by revenue, and measures how much of each revenue dollar remains after cost of goods sold.
The expansion from a 38% average in 2017–2019 to a 47%+ average in 2024–2025 is one of the most significant margin improvements in large-cap technology history, driven almost entirely by the growing contribution of Apple’s high-margin Services segment.
Apple Annual Gross Margin by Year
| Year | Value | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 47.2% | +1.5% |
| 2024 | 46.5% | +3.3% |
| 2023 | 45.0% | +4.4% |
| 2022 | 43.1% | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 43.0% | +11.4% |
| 2020 | 38.6% | +1.8% |
| 2019 | 37.9% | -0.8% |
| 2018 | 38.2% | -0.5% |
| 2017 | 38.4% | — |
Annual averages across four calendar quarters. Source: SEC EDGAR XBRL.
Key Gross Margin Trends
Hardware gross margins (iPhone, Mac, iPad) have remained relatively stable in the 35–38% range over this period, with commodity pricing cycles causing modest quarter-to-quarter fluctuation. The structural expansion comes from Services: Apple’s App Store, iCloud, Apple TV+, Apple Music, and financial products like Apple Pay carry estimated gross margins of 70–75%, substantially above the hardware blended rate.
The trough was Q1 2019 (37.6%) during a period of elevated NAND flash memory costs, unfavorable product mix (iPhone XR over-indexed vs. premium XS), and yuan depreciation that required pricing adjustments in China. Recovery began in late 2019 as component costs normalized.
The 2021 step-change (from 38.6% average in 2020 to 43.0% average in 2021) is primarily attributable to Services reaching a critical revenue share threshold where its higher margin meaningfully blended up the total. Apple’s 5G iPhone supercycle also brought premium model mix improvement, raising hardware margins.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Apple’s gross margin for Q4 2025?
Apple’s gross margin was 48.2% in Q4 2025 (October–December 2025), an all-time quarterly high. This compares to 46.9% in Q4 2024.
Why has Apple’s gross margin expanded?
Apple’s gross margin has expanded from ~38% in 2017 to ~48% in 2025 primarily because Services revenue (App Store, iCloud, Apple TV+) now represents roughly 25% of total revenue and carries gross margins of 70–75%, well above Apple’s hardware segment.
What is Apple’s highest gross margin quarter ever?
Apple’s highest gross margin on record is 48.2%, reported in Q4 2025 (October–December 2025).
What was Apple’s lowest gross margin?
Apple’s lowest gross margin in this dataset was 37.6% in Q1 2019 (January–March 2019), driven by elevated component costs and weaker iPhone mix.
Related Apple Financial Data
- Apple Revenue History
- Apple Gross Profit History
- Apple Operating Margin History
- Apple Net Profit Margin History
- Gross Margin explained
- Consumer Electronics Sector
Data sourced from SEC EDGAR XBRL. Calendar year quarters shown. Last updated: April 2026.
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