Apple vs AutoZone: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
Apple reported $416.2B of revenue in FY2025 and $112B of net income. AutoZone reported $20.3B of revenue in FY2026 and $2.6B of net income.
Latest financial snapshot
Financial summary
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.
AutoZone
AutoZone converts steady repair demand into cash and returns almost all of it to shareholders. Fiscal 2026 operating cash flow was US$3.30 billion on net sales of US$20.34 billion, and the company pays no dividend. Since fiscal 1998 it has repurchased 156.2 million shares for US$40.5 billion, including US$2.0 billion in fiscal 2026 at an average price of US$3,496 a share, leaving 16.2 million shares outstanding at August 29, 2026. That is why per-share earnings grow faster than profit: fiscal 2026 net income rose 3.0 percent to US$2.57 billion while diluted earnings per share rose 5.3 percent to US$152.55. The buybacks are partly debt funded, so the balance sheet carries US$9.08 billion of debt and a US$2.50 billion stockholders' deficit, with adjusted debt to EBITDAR of 2.5 times and adjusted after-tax return on invested capital of 35.8 percent.
Revenue and profit by year
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 |
AutoZone
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | $20.3B | $2.6B | 12.6% | +7.4% | Source |
| FY2025 | $18.9B | $2.5B | 13.2% | +2.4% | Source |
| FY2024 | $18.5B | $2.7B | 14.4% | +5.9% | Source |
| FY2023 | $17.5B | $2.5B | 14.5% | +7.4% | Source |
| FY2022 | $16.3B | $2.4B | 14.9% | +11.1% | Source |
| FY2021 | $14.6B | $2.2B | 14.8% | +15.8% | Source |
| FY2020 | $12.6B | $1.7B | 13.7% | +6.5% | Source |
| FY2019 | $11.9B | $1.6B | 13.6% | +5.7% | Source |
| FY2018 | $11.2B | $1.3B | 11.9% | +3.1% | Source |
| FY2017 | $10.9B | $1.3B | 11.8% | +2.4% | Source |
| FY2016 | $10.6B | $1.2B | 11.7% | — | Source |
Where the revenue comes from
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.
AutoZone
- Do-It-For-Me (DIFM) Commercial~28%
Domestic commercial sales to independent repair shops and local service garages were US$5.76 billion in fiscal 2026 (up 10.6%), about 28% of total net sales of US$20.34 billion.
- Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Retail
~72% (with international and other)
All other sales, about US$14.58 billion in fiscal 2026: domestic DIY retail plus stores in Mexico and Brazil, e-commerce and ALLDATA. The earnings release does not split DIY from these other sales.
- ALLDATA Software Subscriptions
Not separately disclosed
Recurring revenue from diagnostic software subscriptions for independent repair shops, providing OEM diagnostic data and repair procedures; included in the non-commercial sales figure above.
Business model and strategy
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.
AutoZone
How it makes money
AutoZone runs two connected businesses: DIY retail, where customers buy parts for their own vehicles, and DIFM (Do-It-For-Me) commercial sales to professional repair shops. Domestic commercial sales reached US$5.76 billion in fiscal 2026, up 10.6 percent, about 28 percent of total net sales of US$20.34 billion.
Growth strategy
With the U.S. store base mature, most domestic growth has to come from the professional market and from putting more inventory closer to customers. Domestic commercial sales grew 10.6 percent to US$5.76 billion in fiscal 2026, and the company added 345 commercial programs and 39 mega hubs during the year.
Competitive advantage
AutoZone's advantage is local parts availability. A customer whose car will not start cannot wait two days for delivery, so the value sits in having the part nearby: 6,863 U.S. stores backed by 172 mega hub stores that each carry 80,000 to 110,000 unique SKUs and supply the stores and commercial customers around them.
Questions about Apple vs AutoZone
Which company has higher revenue — Apple Inc. or AutoZone, Inc.?
Apple Inc. reported $416.2B (FY2025), while AutoZone, Inc. reported $20.3B (FY2026). By last reported revenue, Apple Inc. is the larger business, with AutoZone, Inc. reporting a smaller revenue base. Note: these are from different fiscal years and are not a direct like-for-like comparison.
What is the market cap of Apple Inc. vs AutoZone, Inc.?
Apple Inc.'s market capitalisation stands at $4.98T, while AutoZone, Inc.'s is $45.8B. Apple Inc. carries the higher market valuation, reflecting investors' expectations of its future earnings power relative to AutoZone, Inc..
Which is more financially efficient — Apple Inc. or AutoZone, Inc.?
Apple Inc. generates $2.51M / employee in revenue per employee, while AutoZone, Inc. generates $156k / 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 Apple Inc. and AutoZone, Inc. make money?
Apple Inc. and AutoZone, Inc. generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. Apple Inc.: Apple sells hardware at premium prices and keeps the software, distribution and payment layers on top of it. AutoZone, Inc.: AutoZone runs two connected businesses: DIY retail, where customers buy parts for their own vehicles, and DIFM (Do-It-For-Me) commercial sales to professional repair shops.
Which company is valued higher relative to revenue — Apple Inc. or AutoZone, Inc.?
On a price-to-sales (P/S) basis, Apple Inc. trades at 12.0x P/S and AutoZone, Inc. at 2.3x P/S. Apple Inc. commands a higher revenue multiple, typically indicating that investors expect faster growth or higher future margins compared to AutoZone, Inc.. A higher multiple is not inherently better — it may also signal that the stock is priced for perfection.
Is Apple Inc. bigger than AutoZone, Inc.?
By last reported revenue, Apple Inc. ($416.2B (FY2025)) is the larger company compared to AutoZone, Inc. ($20.3B (FY2026)). 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 Apple vs AutoZone overview