Adobe vs Apple: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
Adobe reported $23.8B of revenue in FY2025 and $7.1B of net income. Apple reported $416.2B of revenue in FY2025 and $112B of net income.
Latest financial snapshot
Financial summary
Adobe
Revenue rose from $5.854 billion in fiscal 2016 to $23.769 billion in fiscal 2025. Fiscal 2025 net income was $7.130 billion, compared with $5.560 billion in fiscal 2024. Adobe's fiscal years in this series ended on the Friday closest to November 30 or, in some years, early December.
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
Adobe
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $23.8B | $7.1B | 30.0% | +10.5% | Source |
| FY2024 | $21.5B | $5.6B | 25.9% | +10.8% | Source |
| FY2023 | $19.4B | $5.4B | 28.0% | +10.2% | Source |
| FY2022 | $17.6B | $4.8B | 27.0% | +11.5% | Source |
| FY2021 | $15.8B | $4.8B | 30.5% | +22.7% | Source |
| FY2020 | $12.9B | $5.3B | 40.9% | +15.2% | Source |
| FY2019 | $11.2B | $3B | 26.4% | +23.7% | Source |
| FY2018 | $9B | $2.6B | 28.7% | +23.7% | Source |
| FY2017 | $7.3B | $1.7B | 23.2% | +24.7% | Source |
| FY2016 | $5.9B | $1.2B | 20.0% | — | 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
Adobe
- Digital Media74.3%
Creative Cloud and Document Cloud generated $17.649 billion in fiscal 2025 revenue.
- Digital Experience24.7%
Customer-experience applications and services generated $5.864 billion in fiscal 2025 revenue.
- Publishing and Advertising1.1%
Publishing products and advertising offerings generated $256 million in fiscal 2025 revenue.
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
Adobe
How it makes money
Adobe earns most of its revenue from subscriptions. In fiscal 2025, subscription revenue was $22.904 billion, or about 96% of total revenue. Digital Media includes Creative Cloud and Document Cloud, while Digital Experience includes applications and services for customer experience management. Adobe also reports a smaller Publishing and Advertising business.
Growth strategy
Adobe's stated strategy includes expanding Creative Cloud and Document Cloud, developing Firefly and other AI capabilities, and growing customer-experience applications. In 2026 Adobe also announced that Anil Chakravarthy, who leads Customer Experience Orchestration and worldwide field operations, will become CEO on December 1, 2026.
Competitive advantage
Adobe combines established creative applications, the PDF and Acrobat document workflow, and customer-experience software in subscription offerings. Its fiscal 2025 Form 10-K says its markets are competitive and subject to rapid technology change, so continued product development and customer retention remain important.
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 Adobe vs Apple
Which company has higher revenue — Adobe Inc. or Apple Inc.?
Adobe Inc. reported $23.8B (FY2025), while Apple Inc. reported $416.2B (FY2025). By last reported revenue, Apple Inc. is the larger business, with Adobe Inc. reporting a smaller revenue base.
What is the market cap of Adobe Inc. vs Apple Inc.?
Adobe Inc.'s market capitalisation stands at $93.0B, while Apple Inc.'s is $4.98T. Apple Inc. carries the higher market valuation, reflecting investors' expectations of its future earnings power relative to Adobe Inc..
Which is more financially efficient — Adobe Inc. or Apple Inc.?
Adobe Inc. generates $758k / 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 Adobe Inc. and Apple Inc. make money?
Adobe Inc. and Apple Inc. generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. Adobe Inc.: Adobe earns most of its revenue from subscriptions. 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 — Adobe Inc. or Apple Inc.?
On a price-to-sales (P/S) basis, Adobe Inc. trades at 3.9x 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 Adobe Inc.. A higher multiple is not inherently better — it may also signal that the stock is priced for perfection.
Is Adobe Inc. bigger than Apple Inc.?
By last reported revenue, Apple Inc. ($416.2B (FY2025)) is the larger company compared to Adobe Inc. ($23.8B (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 Adobe vs Apple overview