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This article explores Apple’s operating expenses breakdown, consisting of R&D, SG&A, and Consolidated.
Let’s look at the numbers!
You may find other statistic of Apple Inc. in the following pages:
Sales
- Apple revenue breakdown by region,
- Apple revenue breakdown by country,
- Apple revenue breakdown by product line,
Profit Margin
Please use the table of contents to navigate this page.
Table Of Contents
Definitions And Overview
Insight & Summary of Observed Trends
Z1. Insight & Summary of Apple’s Operating Expenses Breakdown
Operating Expenses Statistics
A1. Operating Expenses from R&D, SG&A, and Consolidated
A2. Operating Expenses Mix from R&D and SG&A
A3. Operating Expenses to Revenue Ratio
A4. Operating Expenses YoY Growth Rates
Reference, Credits, and Disclosure
S1. References and Credits
S2. Disclosure
Definitions
To help readers understand the content better, the following terms and glossaries have been provided.
Apple’s Fiscal Period: Apple’s fiscal year is the 52- or 53-week period that ends on the last Saturday of September.
An additional week is included in the first fiscal quarter every five or six years to realign the Company’s fiscal quarters with calendar quarters, which occurred in the first quarter of 2023.
Apple’s fiscal years 2025 and 2024 spanned 52 weeks each, whereas fiscal year 2023 spanned 53 weeks.
Insight & Summary of Apple’s Operating Expenses Breakdown
The following analysis consolidates the trends observed for Apple’s operating expense breakdown, expense mix, ratio to revenue, and YoY growth rates for the 2017–2025 period.
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The data reveals a decisive and sustained shift in Apple’s strategic investments, characterized by the aggressive acceleration of Research and Development (R&D) spending.
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In 2017, SG&A was the larger expense category; however, R&D steadily gained share, permanently overtaking SG&A and expanding to represent 55.6% of the total operating expense mix by 2025.
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This underscores Apple’s heavy capital rotation into foundational technologies, custom silicon, spatial computing, and artificial intelligence.
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While R&D intensity has noticeably increased — climbing from 5.0% of total revenue in 2017 to 8.0% by 2025 — Apple has maintained rigorous operational discipline over its corporate overhead.
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Selling, General, and Administrative (SG&A) expenses have remained flat at roughly 6.0% to 7.0% of revenue throughout the entire nine-year span.
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Even with total operating expenses creeping up to 15.0% of revenue in recent years, the overall cost structure remains highly efficient, with recent SG&A growth strictly constrained (averaging just 3.30% YoY over the last three years) while R&D continues to see robust, targeted expansion.
The table below combines all key operating expenses metrics, expenses mix, ratio to revenue, and growth rates into a single view for the latest three fiscal years.
Consolidated Operating Expenses 3-Year Averages (2023–2025)
| Metric | 3-Year Avg. Value |
|---|---|
| Operating Expenses Breakdown ($ Millions) | |
| R&D ($ Millions) | $31,945.00 |
| SG&A ($ Millions) | $26,210.00 |
| Total Operating Expenses ($ Millions) | $58,155.00 |
| Operating Expenses Mix (%) | |
| R&D Mix (%) | 54.90% |
| SG&A Mix (%) | 45.10% |
| Ratio to Revenue (%) | |
| R&D to Revenue Ratio (%) | 8.00% |
| SG&A to Revenue Ratio (%) | 7.00% |
| Total OpEx to Revenue Ratio (%) | 14.67% |
| YoY Growth Rates (%) | |
| R&D Growth (%) | 9.67% |
| SG&A Growth (%) | 3.30% |
| Total Operating Expenses Growth (%) | 6.60% |
Operating Expenses from R&D, SG&A, and Consolidated
The definition of Apple’s fiscal period is available here: Apple’s fiscal period.
Operating Expenses Breakdown 3-Year Averages (2023–2025)
| Metric | 3-Year Avg. Value |
|---|---|
| R&D ($ Millions) | $31,945.00 |
| SG&A ($ Millions) | $26,210.00 |
| Total Operating Expenses ($ Millions) | $58,155.00 |
Operating Expenses Mix from R&D and SG&A
The definition of Apple’s fiscal period is available here: Apple’s fiscal period.
Operating Expenses Mix 3-Year Averages (2023–2025)
| Metric | 3-Year Avg. Value |
|---|---|
| R&D Mix (%) | 54.90% |
| SG&A Mix (%) | 45.10% |
Operating Expenses to Revenue Ratio
The definition of Apple’s fiscal period is available here: Apple’s fiscal period.
Operating Expenses to Revenue Ratio 3-Year Averages (2023–2025)
| Metric | 3-Year Avg. Value |
|---|---|
| R&D Ratio (%) | 8.00% |
| SG&A Ratio (%) | 7.00% |
| Total Operating Expenses Ratio (%) | 14.67% |
Operating Expenses YoY Growth Rates
The definition of Apple’s fiscal period is available here: Apple’s fiscal period.
Operating Expenses YoY Growth 3-Year Averages (2023–2025)
| Metric | 3-Year Avg. Value |
|---|---|
| R&D Growth (%) | 9.67% |
| SG&A Growth (%) | 3.30% |
| Total Operating Expenses Growth (%) | 6.60% |
References and Credits
1. All financial figures presented were obtained and referenced from Apple’s annual reports published on the company’s investor relations page: Apple Investor Relations.
2. Prexels Images.
Disclosure
We may utilize the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) tools to produce some of the text in this article. However, the data is directly obtained from original sources and meticulously cross-checked by our editors multiple times to ensure its accuracy and reliability.
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