R&D Expenses (In US$ Billion) Apple Research and Development Expenses, by Year(by fiscal year)R&D Expenses ($ Billion)R&D as % of Revenue increases in every passing year, as per the report of Dazeinfo.
The above graph represents Apple research and development expenses by year, and the percentage of total revenue the company spends on R&D. The company’s spending on research and development (R&D) has been increasing by each passing year. In fiscal 2018, Apple spent a whopping $14.2 billion on R&D – the highest-ever till date. That’s an astonishing 22.9% YoY increase from fiscal 2017 when the company spent $11.58 billion on R&D. The growth in 2018 R&D spending was primarily driven by the increased headcount-related expenses, infrastructure-related costs and material costs to support expanded R&D activities.
In fiscal 1992, the Cupertino giant spent about $602 million on research and development activities – that’s accounted for 8.5% of its total revenue. One must note that it was the highest-ever share of revenue the company spent on R&D in its history.Apple’s R&D expenses in 2018 accounted for nearly 5.36% of its total revenue. This marks the company’s highest-ever spending on R&D since 2004.
Fiscal 2008 was the first time when Apple’s research and development expenditures surpassed the $1-billion milestone. The company’s investment in research and development increased from just $782 million in fiscal 2007 to a whopping $1.1 billion in fiscal 2008, representing 41.8% YoY growth. This was the highest-ever year-over-year growth recorded in Apple R&D expenses in history.
On the other hand, in fiscal 1998, Apple reported a huge 37.5% YoY decline in its research and development expenditures, which totalled $303 million – the lowest in the history of Apple.
It is important to note that in fiscal 2016, Apple’s total yearly spending on research and development operations totaled over $10-billion for the first time. During Oct-Sep 2016, the Cupertino giant spent nearly $1.978 billion more amount than the previous year.
