How Apple Makes Its Money

Apple is a brand with instant name recognition. And this recognition is responsible for making it the first U.S. publicly traded company to reach a market value of one trillion dollars.

How Apple Makes Its Money

So, how does Apple make its money? A new infographic from SellYourMac asks this very same question.

Apple has multiple streams of revenue, but the iPhone generates the lion’s share of the company’s income.

This is the breakdown of net sales for 2019:

iPhone – $142,381
Mac – $25,740
iPad – $21,280
Wearables, Home and Accessories – $24,482
Services – $46,291
Total net sales – $260,174 Billion

The sales information for Apple comes from the 10-K annual report. You can find out the information for any publicly-traded company from their public filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

When it comes to global regions, the Americas get the majority of all sales for Apple with $116,914 billion. Europe ($60,288), Greater China ($43,678), Japan ($21,506) and the rest of Asia Pacific ($17,788) follow.

Apple’s Dominance

How did Apple dominate the market? It all comes down to some key tenets Steve Jobs adopted as the company’s canon. They are Design, Quality, Marketing, Leadership and Innovation.

A design with great aesthetic produced with quality materials is key to begin the process. Once you have this, marketing becomes that much easier. And if you adopt the “Think Different” marketing philosophy of Steve Jobs, you will get the attention of consumers. And you can start selling your products.

The next step is to have leadership who as he said are crazy enough to think they can change the world. Because it is these people who are bold enough to come up with new innovations. And it is this innovation that has kept Apple and its products on top of the food chain.

Having the leadership to demand quality products with design aesthetic consumers like and integrating the latest innovation with brilliant marketing all add up to keeping your brand on top. But staying on top and dominating the market requires more effort.

Why Does Apple Continue to Dominate?

According to the SellYourMac infographic, there are four important reasons. And it is these reasons which keep Apple on top.

The first reason is an ecosystem that makes it possible to bring all of the company’s products and services together seamlessly. Compatibility issues are nonexistent or extremely rare with Apple. Having a single ecosystem also makes it very easy to introduce new products and make them work together.

The second reason is to have a retail presence. A retail presence allows consumers to see, touch and use the product before they buy it. Furthermore, a retail outlet makes it easier for customers to get technical support and repair damaged products.

Having the above two reasons is responsible for the third reason Apple stays on top, brand loyalty. When customers see value in the product they buy, they are more likely to become life-long customers.

The last reason piggybacks on the quality of the product by committing to refurbish and recycle. A well-made product can be refurbished to ensure it stays in use for as long as possible. Apple also accepts older devices for recycling, an important issue for people who buy their products.

What Can You Learn from Apple?

The concepts Apple has implemented as part of its operation is not rocket science, nor is it original to the company. What Apple has done is stay on course no matter what.

If you have a system in place that is working and is delivering across all metrics, stay the course. This is especially important for small business owners with limited resources.

How Apple Makes Its Money