Apple (AAPL) Operating Income History: Quarterly Data (2017–2025)
Apple quarterly operating income from 2017 Q1 through 2025 Q4, sourced from SEC EDGAR XBRL. Interactive chart, year-over-year growth, and annual operating income by year.
| Quarter | Operating Income (USD) | YoY Change |
|---|
Source: SEC EDGAR XBRL (OperatingIncomeLoss). Quarters marked * are derived (annual filing minus prior three quarters). Calendar year quarters shown.
Apple Operating Income: 2017–2025
Apple (AAPL) reported quarterly operating income of $50.9 billion in Q4 2025 (October–December 2025), an +18.7% increase year-over-year from $42.9 billion in Q4 2024 — Apple’s highest ever quarterly operating income. Operating income is gross profit minus operating expenses (R&D and SG&A), and represents earnings from core operations before interest and taxes.
Full-year 2025 operating income reached $141.1 billion, up from $125.7 billion in 2024. Apple’s operating income more than doubled from $74.3 billion in 2020 to $141.1 billion in 2025, even as operating expenses (particularly R&D) grew substantially to fund Apple Silicon, Vision Pro, and AI infrastructure investment.
Apple Annual Operating Income by Year
| Year | Value | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $141.1B | +12.3% |
| 2024 | $125.7B | +5.9% |
| 2023 | $118.7B | +4.1% |
| 2022 | $114.0B | -2.5% |
| 2021 | $116.9B | +57.3% |
| 2020 | $74.3B | +12.2% |
| 2019 | $66.2B | -2.6% |
| 2018 | $68.0B | +5.8% |
| 2017 | $64.3B | — |
Calendar year totals (Q1–Q4). Source: SEC EDGAR XBRL.
Key Operating Income Trends
Apple’s 2021 surge (+57.3% in operating income YoY) stands out as exceptional: gross profit grew 42.7% but R&D and SG&A grew only 14%, creating powerful operating leverage. This demonstrates Apple’s “fixed-cost-like” operating expense base — a key characteristic of the software-like business model that Services has introduced into what was historically a hardware company.
The 2019 dip ($68.0B to $66.2B) reflects the iPhone XS/XR revenue shortfall without a corresponding reduction in R&D commitment, as Apple was mid-cycle on Apple Silicon development. This illustrates an important asymmetry: Apple does not cut R&D in down cycles, which compresses operating margins temporarily but sustains long-term competitive advantage.
Operating income in Q1 2021 grew 114% year-over-year, the strongest single-quarter growth rate in this dataset, driven by the delayed iPhone 12 launch (normally an October event, pushed to November 2020) spilling into the December quarter alongside record Mac/iPad demand.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Apple’s operating income for Q4 2025?
Apple’s operating income was $50.9 billion in Q4 2025 (October–December 2025), up 18.7% from $42.9 billion in Q4 2024. This is Apple’s highest quarterly operating income on record.
What is Apple’s annual operating income?
Apple’s full-year 2025 operating income was $141.1 billion, up from $125.7 billion in 2024. Apple first exceeded $100 billion in annual operating income in 2021.
What is Apple’s operating income margin?
Apple’s operating margin (operating income as a percentage of revenue) was approximately 32% on average in 2025, up from around 26% in 2017. See Apple Operating Margin History for the full quarterly series.
How does Apple’s operating income compare to competitors?
Apple’s $141.1 billion in 2025 operating income makes it one of the most profitable companies in the world by this measure, comparable to the largest technology companies globally including Microsoft, Alphabet, and Meta.
Related Apple Financial Data
- Apple Revenue History
- Apple Operating Margin History
- Apple Gross Profit History
- Apple Net Income History
- Apple Free Cash Flow History
- Consumer Electronics Sector
Data sourced from SEC EDGAR XBRL. Calendar year quarters shown. Last updated: April 2026.
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