Apple vs Warner Bros. Discovery: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
Apple reported $416.2B of revenue in FY2025 and $112B of net income. Warner Bros. Discovery reported $37.3B of revenue in FY2025 and $727M of net income.
Latest financial snapshot
Apple
- Latest revenue
- $416.2B (FY2025)
- Net income
- $112B
- Net margin
- 26.9%
- Revenue growth
- +7.6% a year, FY2016–FY2025
Warner Bros. Discovery
- Latest revenue
- $37.3B (FY2025)
- Net income
- $727M
- Net margin
- 1.9%
- Revenue growth
- +32.3% a year, FY2021–FY2025
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.
Warner Bros. Discovery
FY2025 revenue was $37.3 billion, down 5% ex-FX, with net income available to WBD of $727 million, adjusted EBITDA of $8.7 billion, and free cash flow of $3.1 billion. The company ended 2025 with 131.6 million streaming subscribers and $29.0 billion of net debt. In 2026, Q1 revenue was $8.9 billion with a $2.9 billion net loss that included the $2.8 billion termination fee owed to Netflix, which Paramount Skydance paid on WBD's behalf. Q2 revenue was $8.7 billion, down 12% ex-FX, with net income of $149 million and adjusted EBITDA of $1.9 billion. During Q2 WBD repaid its $15 billion bridge loan with new term loans.
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 |
Warner Bros. Discovery
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $37.3B | $727M | 1.9% | -5.1% | Source |
| FY2024 | $39.3B | -$11.3B | -28.8% | -4.8% | Source |
| FY2023 | $41.3B | -$3.1B | -7.6% | +22.2% | Source |
| FY2022 | $33.8B | -$7.4B | -21.8% | +177.4% | Source |
| FY2021 | $12.2B | $1B | 8.3% | — | 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.
Warner Bros. Discovery
- Distribution
Largest revenue type
Streaming subscription fees and carriage fees from pay-TV distributors.
- Advertising
Declining
Ad sales on linear networks and ad-supported streaming tiers; down 22% ex-FX in Q2 2026.
- Content
Varies with film slate
Theatrical releases, TV licensing, games, and consumer products.
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.
Warner Bros. Discovery
How it makes money
WBD earns money from three revenue types. Distribution revenue comes from HBO Max and discovery+ subscriptions and from fees that pay-TV distributors pay to carry its cable networks. Advertising revenue comes from linear networks such as TNT, TBS, CNN, Discovery and HGTV, plus ad-supported streaming tiers.
Growth strategy
Before the sale, WBD's plan centered on growing HBO Max internationally, rebuilding the film slate and DC under DC Studios, licensing its library, and managing linear networks for cash. In 2025 it planned to split into two companies (Streaming & Studios and Global Networks) before the board ran a sale process that ended with the Paramount Skydance agreement.
Competitive advantage
WBD's main asset is its content library and franchise IP: Warner Bros. films and TV, HBO series, DC, Harry Potter, Looney Tunes, and a large unscripted catalog from Discovery, HGTV and Food Network. That library is the main reason it drew competing bids from Netflix and Paramount Skydance in 2025 and 2026.
Questions about Apple vs Warner Bros. Discovery
Which company has higher revenue — Apple Inc. or Warner Bros. Discovery?
Apple Inc. reported $416.2B (FY2025), while Warner Bros. Discovery reported $37.3B (FY2025). By last reported revenue, Apple Inc. is the larger business, with Warner Bros. Discovery reporting a smaller revenue base.
What is the market cap of Apple Inc. vs Warner Bros. Discovery?
Apple Inc.'s market capitalisation stands at $4.98T, while Warner Bros. Discovery's is $77.0B. Apple Inc. carries the higher market valuation, reflecting investors' expectations of its future earnings power relative to Warner Bros. Discovery.
Which is more financially efficient — Apple Inc. or Warner Bros. Discovery?
Apple Inc. generates $2.51M / employee in revenue per employee, while Warner Bros. Discovery generates $1.05M / 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 Warner Bros. Discovery make money?
Apple Inc. and Warner Bros. Discovery 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. Warner Bros. Discovery: WBD earns money from three revenue types.
Which company is valued higher relative to revenue — Apple Inc. or Warner Bros. Discovery?
On a price-to-sales (P/S) basis, Apple Inc. trades at 12.0x P/S and Warner Bros. Discovery at 2.1x P/S. Apple Inc. commands a higher revenue multiple, typically indicating that investors expect faster growth or higher future margins compared to Warner Bros. Discovery. A higher multiple is not inherently better — it may also signal that the stock is priced for perfection.
Is Apple Inc. bigger than Warner Bros. Discovery?
By last reported revenue, Apple Inc. ($416.2B (FY2025)) is the larger company compared to Warner Bros. Discovery ($37.3B (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 Apple vs Warner Bros. Discovery overview