Apple's R&D Spending Grows 32%, Still Lags Rivals

According to a Reuters report on October 31, Apple's R&D expenditure in the last fiscal year reached a new high of nearly $4.5 billion, an increase of 32% compared to the previous year, according to Apple's annual report submitted to the SEC. However, Apple's R&D expenses are much lower compared to its major competitors such as Microsoft.

Apple’s R&D expenditure accounted for approximately 3% of its revenue, which increased by one percentage point compared to the previous year. But when compared with its peers, Apple’s R&D expenditure is one of the lowest. For example, Microsoft’s R&D expenditure in the last fiscal year was $10.4 billion, accounting for 13% of its revenue. Google’s R&D expenditure so far this year has been $5.8 billion (compared to $9.8 billion in 2012).

Samsung’s R&D expenditure last year was $10.5 billion, and it is currently constructing large R&D facilities in Silicon Valley. Even Amazon’s R&D expenditure so far this year has already reached $4.7 billion (exceeding last year’s total of $4.6 billion). This is not news for Apple, but as people increasingly expect the company to release new products such as smartwatches and TVs, the issue of R&D becomes more noteworthy.

Not only is Apple's R&D expenditure increasing, but other expenditures are also growing, such as advertising expenditure, which increased by $1 billion over the previous year to reach $1.1 billion. The company added more than 7,500 employees, and its stock repurchase amount increased from $10 billion to $60 billion. (Xiulinf)