3M vs Apple: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
3M reported $24.9B of revenue in FY2025 and $3.3B of net income. Apple reported $416.2B of revenue in FY2025 and $112B of net income.
Latest financial snapshot
Financial summary
3M
3M has long been a steady dividend payer. Its revenue is spread across many industries, which makes it resilient in downturns. Its balance sheet has been strained by multi-billion dollar legal settlements over PFAS chemicals and combat earplugs. The underlying business still generates strong cash flow because it has pricing power on its specialized industrial products.
Apple
Apple's fiscal 2025 results describe a hardware business with software margins. Net sales rose 6 percent to $416.2 billion, net income reached $112.0 billion, and total gross margin was 46.9 percent, split between 36.8 percent on Products and 75.4 percent on Services. Services revenue of $109.2 billion, up 14 percent, is the reason the blended margin keeps rising. Cash generation is the other defining feature: operations produced $111.5 billion in fiscal 2025, and Apple returned $89.3 billion through share repurchases and $15.4 billion in dividends, after announcing a new repurchase authorization of up to $100 billion and raising the quarterly dividend to $0.26 per share in May 2025. Research and development came to $34.6 billion, 8 percent of net sales, and cash plus marketable securities stood at $132.4 billion at year end.
Revenue and profit by year
3M
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $24.9B | $3.3B | 13.0% | +1.5% | Source |
| FY2024 | $24.6B | $4.2B | 17.0% | -0.1% | Source |
| FY2023 | $24.6B | -$7B | -28.4% | -5.9% | Source |
| FY2022 | $26.2B | $5.8B | 22.1% | -26.0% | Source |
| FY2021 | $35.4B | $5.9B | 16.7% | +9.9% | Source |
| FY2020 | $32.2B | $5.4B | 16.9% | +0.1% | Source |
| FY2019 | $32.1B | $4.5B | 14.1% | -1.9% | Source |
| FY2018 | $32.8B | $5.3B | 16.3% | +3.5% | Source |
| FY2017 | $31.7B | $4.9B | 15.3% | +5.1% | Source |
| FY2016 | $30.1B | $5B | 16.8% | — | Source |
Apple
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $416.2B | $112B | 26.9% | +6.4% | Source |
| FY2024 | $391B | $93.7B | 24.0% | +2.0% | Source |
| FY2023 | $383.3B | $97B | 25.3% | -2.8% | Source |
| FY2022 | $394.3B | $99.8B | 25.3% | +7.8% | Source |
| FY2021 | $365.8B | $94.7B | 25.9% | +33.3% | Source |
| FY2020 | $274.5B | $57.4B | 20.9% | +5.5% | Source |
| FY2019 | $260.2B | $55.3B | 21.2% | -2.0% | Source |
| FY2018 | $265.6B | $59.5B | 22.4% | +15.9% | Source |
| FY2017 | $229.2B | $48.4B | 21.1% | +6.3% | Source |
| FY2016 | $215.6B | $45.7B | 21.2% | — | Source |
Where the revenue comes from
3M
- Safety and Industrial Segment~46%
The Safety and Industrial segment is 3M's largest revenue contributor, generating $11.4 billion of net sales in fiscal year 2025. This segment manufactures and sells personal protective equipment including N95 respirators, hearing protection, and eye protection; industrial abrasives including Cubitron II ceramic abrasives; adhesive tapes and specialty bonding products for industrial applications; electrical insulation and electrical products; and roofing granules. Customers include construction companies, automotive manufacturers, oil and gas producers, aerospace manufacturers, and general industrial enterprises globally. The segment's competitive strength rests on 3M's proprietary materials science capabilities that allow it to engineer products meeting demanding performance specifications in safety and industrial applications where failure consequences are significant.
- Transportation and Electronics Segment~33%
The Transportation and Electronics segment generated $8.3 billion of net sales in fiscal year 2025, serving automotive original equipment manufacturers, electronics assemblers, semiconductor fabricators, and aerospace manufacturers with advanced specialty materials. Key product categories include light management films for display applications, conductive adhesives and specialty tapes for electronics assembly, automotive structural adhesives that enable vehicle lightweighting, thermal management materials for electric vehicle battery systems, and specialty chemicals for semiconductor processing. This segment is positioned at the intersection of the electrification and digitalization trends that are driving the most significant changes in global manufacturing, making it a strategic growth focus for 3M's leadership.
- Consumer Segment~20%
The Consumer segment generated $4.9 billion of net sales in fiscal year 2025, selling branded products including Post-it Notes, Scotch tape, Command adhesive strips, Filtrete home air filters, and other home improvement and office products through mass retail, office supply, home improvement, and e-commerce channels. While the smallest of 3M's post-Solventum segments by revenue, the Consumer business plays a strategic role in maintaining brand awareness with individual consumers and institutional purchasers who interact with 3M products in personal contexts.
Apple
- iPhone~50%
iPhone net sales were $209.6B in FY2025, up 4%, and the phone is the entry point into Services, accessories, AppleCare, iCloud and App Store spending.
- Services~26%
Services covers the App Store, advertising, cloud, AppleCare, payments, media subscriptions and licensing. FY2025 net sales were $109.2B, up 14%, at a 75.4% gross margin against 36.8% for Products.
- Mac and iPad~15%
Mac net sales were $33.7B and iPad $28.0B in FY2025, driven by Apple silicon refreshes, education, creative work and enterprise adoption.
- Wearables, Home and Accessories~9%
Apple Watch, AirPods, Vision Pro, home devices and accessories were $35.7B in FY2025, down 4%, and they deepen iPhone attachment.
Business model and strategy
3M
How it makes money
3M's business model is basically acting as a giant, outsourced R&D department for the rest of the world. They pour billions into scientific research to invent proprietary materials. Once they hold the patent, they figure out how to sell that material to as many different industries as possible.
Growth strategy
3M is currently trying to shed its slower-growing legacy businesses to focus entirely on the future. They recently spun off their large healthcare division to streamline their operations. Going forward, they are heavily targeting high-growth megatrends like electric vehicle manufacturing, climate tech, and home improvement.
Competitive advantage
The biggest competitive advantage 3M has is its patent portfolio and its culture of cross-pollination. If a 3M scientist invents a new type of ceramic for an airplane engine, another scientist might realize that same ceramic can be used for dental braces. This ability to reuse foundational R&D across dozens of markets gives them a large economy of scale that pure-play competitors just can't replicate.
Apple
How it makes money
Apple sells hardware at premium prices and keeps the software, distribution and payment layers on top of it. The iPhone is the entry point, at $209.6 billion of fiscal 2025 net sales, and it pulls customers into iOS, iCloud storage plans, App Store purchases, AppleCare and accessories.
Growth strategy
Growth now comes from monetizing an installed base of more than 2.5 billion devices rather than from unit growth alone. Services rose 14 percent to $109.2 billion in fiscal 2025 on the App Store, advertising, iCloud, AppleCare, payments and subscription media, and Apple packages them through the Apple One bundle.
Competitive advantage
Apple's advantage comes from owning the parts other phone makers buy. It designs its own silicon, the A20 Pro in iPhone 18 Pro and the M5 in Mac and iPad Pro, plus the operating systems, the app store, the payment layer and the retail channel, so hardware, software and services are tuned to each other.
Questions about 3M vs Apple
Which company has higher revenue — 3M Company or Apple Inc.?
3M Company reported $24.9B (FY2025), while Apple Inc. reported $416.2B (FY2025). By last reported revenue, Apple Inc. is the larger business, with 3M Company reporting a smaller revenue base.
What is the market cap of 3M Company vs Apple Inc.?
3M Company's market capitalisation stands at $86.4B, while Apple Inc.'s is $4.98T. Apple Inc. carries the higher market valuation, reflecting investors' expectations of its future earnings power relative to 3M Company.
Which is more financially efficient — 3M Company or Apple Inc.?
3M Company generates $412k / employee in revenue per employee, while Apple Inc. generates $2.51M / employee. Apple Inc. shows higher revenue efficiency per headcount, though this reflects business model differences — capital-light software companies routinely outperform labour-intensive manufacturers on this metric.
How do 3M Company and Apple Inc. make money?
3M Company and Apple Inc. generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. 3M Company: 3M's business model is basically acting as a giant, outsourced R&D department for the rest of the world. Apple Inc.: Apple sells hardware at premium prices and keeps the software, distribution and payment layers on top of it.
Which company is valued higher relative to revenue — 3M Company or Apple Inc.?
On a price-to-sales (P/S) basis, 3M Company trades at 3.5x P/S and Apple Inc. at 12.0x P/S. Apple Inc. commands a higher revenue multiple, typically indicating that investors expect faster growth or higher future margins compared to 3M Company. A higher multiple is not inherently better — it may also signal that the stock is priced for perfection.
Is 3M Company bigger than Apple Inc.?
By last reported revenue, Apple Inc. ($416.2B (FY2025)) is the larger company compared to 3M Company ($24.9B (FY2025)). Revenue scale is one dimension of size — market capitalisation, employee count, and geographic reach are also relevant depending on the context.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the 3M vs Apple overview