Apple's research and development expenses reached a new all-time high in fiscal 2026, climbing 32% year over year to $45.77 billion. The company's R&D spending reached $11.73 billion in Q4 2026, bringing its total for the fiscal year to $45.77 billion, up from $34.55 billion in fiscal 2025. During an earnings call earlier this year, former CEO Tim Cook said Apple was "clearly investing more," adding that R&D was "accelerating much higher than the company" overall. CFO Kevan Parekh also explained that AI-related spending was being added to the investments Apple was already making in its existing product roadmap.
Interestingly, today's figures also suggest that Apple's R&D spending may be starting to level off. While Apple's Q4 2026 R&D expenses were up 32% from $8.87 billion in the year-ago quarter, they were virtually unchanged from Q3, increasing by just $1 million. As the chart above shows, Apple's R&D spending jumped significantly at the beginning of fiscal 2026, but has since stabilized at a much higher level than in previous years. For the full breakdown of Apple's Q4 2026 results, follow this link.
Source: 9to5Mac · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing