Apple spent a record $45.77 billion on R&D in fiscal 2026, up 32%
Apple’s research and development expenses reached a new all-time high in fiscal 2026, climbing 32% year over year to $45.77 billion. Here are the details. more…
In fiscal year 2026, Apple achieved a record-breaking $45.77 billion in research and development (R&D) expenses, marking a 32% increase from the previous year. This substantial investment in R&D comes as the company faces intensified competition in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector. As reported in Apple's Q4 2026 results, the company's spending on R&D reached $11.73 billion, leading to a total of $45.77 billion for the fiscal year, up from $34.55 billion in fiscal 2025.
During an earnings call, former CEO Tim Cook acknowledged that Apple was "clearly investing more," emphasizing that R&D spending was accelerating beyond the company's overall growth. CFO Kevan Parekh explained that the increase in R&D investments was primarily due to AI-related expenses being added to existing product roadmap investments.
Interestingly, while Q4 2026 R&D expenses were up 32% from the year-ago quarter, they showed minimal change from Q3, increasing by just $1 million. Despite the initial surge in R&D spending at the beginning of fiscal 2026, the company's investment level has stabilized at a significantly higher amount compared to previous years. For a detailed breakdown of Apple's Q4 2026 results, interested readers can follow the provided link.
Written by urgent.news from 9to5Mac's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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