From $2 billion to $112 billion in annual profit: How Apple transformed its business

Half a century after its founding, Apple has undergone a remarkable financial transformation. Fortune takes a closer look at the data from the past 50 years, highlighting the shift from devices to recurring revenue, a global sales base, and record-breaking profit growth. The iPhone continues to be the primary driver, but services now make up over a quarter of Apple's projected 2025 revenue.

Apple has successfully diversified its revenue streams, insulating it from hardware upgrade cycles. The company has expanded globally, with a substantial portion of sales coming from Europe, Greater China, Japan, and the Asia-Pacific region. Apple operates more than 500 stores worldwide, reflecting its global reach. Annual profit skyrocketed from roughly $2 billion in 2006 to an astounding $112 billion in 2025, a nearly 60-fold increase in just under two decades.

The stock's performance has been equally impressive: an investment of $10,000 in Apple's 1980 IPO, held through splits and growth, would be worth approximately $40.5 million by mid-2026. These financial milestones form the foundation that John Ternus inherited from Tim Cook, who built Apple into a $5 trillion company through supply-chain discipline and cash-flow strength.

As Fortune's Phil Wahba points out, Cook's legacy lies not just in his leadership style, but in creating a financially strong company. Apple now faces its biggest challenge yet: competing in the AI race while avoiding the hyperscaler arms race, opting for privacy-first, on-device AI delivered through premium hardware. The success of Ternus's Apple will depend on whether this restraint proves wise or costly in the long run.