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.

Apple’s R&D spending reaches new record-high

While it may have taken Apple longer than some wished it had to ramp up R&D in the face of growing competition in AI, the company has significantly accelerated its spending over the past year.

As Apple shared in its Q4 2026 results, it spent $11.73 billion on R&D, bringing its total spending for fiscal 2026 to $45.77 billion, a 32% increase compared to the $34.55 billion it spent 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.

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