Apple may have quaffed all the champagne at the $1 trillion in revenue party before Microsoft even got its invite, but the Windows maker rocked up in a bigger limo.
Last quarter, Microsoft finally reached the major milestone that Apple celebrated back in 2015, and it currently boasts even more profit.
According to technology consultant Jeff Reifman, Microsoft has raked in $265.2 billion in cumulative profits so far on just over $1 trillion in revenue. Despite the fact that Apple’s revenue now exceeds $1.3 trillion, its profits have reached just $261.6 billion.
That’s not too surprising when you consider Microsoft hasn’t been in the hardware business very long. Windows remains the world’s most popular operating system by far, and provides some insanely lucrative services — both of which will offer large profit margins.
Microsoft has had more hiccups than Apple in recent years — most notably its $7.2 billion acquisition of Nokia, which hasn’t worked out too well. Meanwhile, Apple has enjoyed some of its most successful quarters ever… until the last one.
As for Amazon and Google, which Reifman also looked at, they still have a long way to go to reach the $1 trillion mark.
Amazon is currently ahead at around $545.09 billion in cumulative revenue, but only $3.3 billion of that has been translated into profit. Google has raked in just over $417 billion, of which just over $96 billion has been profit.
Via: Business Insider
Killian Bell is a freelance writer based in the U.K. He has an interest in all things tech and also covers Android over at CultofAndroid.com. You can follow him on Twitter via @killianbell.
7 responses to “Microsoft more profitable than Apple at $1 trillion milestone”
Microsoft > appl
it depends on how you look at the two companies. If you look at current numbers, Apple’s blowing Microsoft out the door, knows how to retain a higher profit margin out of lower gross margins and knows how to be much more efficient in how they run their respective businesses.
From a financial perspective, Microsoft doesn’t know what they are doing.
2015 numbers
Microsoft
Gross Sales $93 Bil
Gross Profits $60 Bil
Net Profit $13 Bil
Number of employees 118,000
Apple
Gross Sales $233 Bil
Gross Profit $93 Bil
Net Profit $53 Bil
Number of employees 115,000
So, what does a current view of the two companies indicate?
Apple did over 2X Gross Sales than Microsoft.
Apple has lower profit margins than Microsoft
Apple RETAINED over 4X as much money than Microsoft.
If you just went by these numbers, Microsoft appears to be a bloated company with too much overhead and doesn’t know how to run their company very well. This is partially why Microsoft has been laying people off by the tens of thousands.
Apple makes more revenue per employee, Apple retains more profits per employee, both of which indicate that Apple is a much more efficiently run business.
The fundamental business is different. Microsoft derives most of their revenues by software sales, while Apple derives more of their revenues by hardware sales. Two completely different business models.
Morally maybe, but as a company Apple has a magic that no other company can seem to replicate. Huge profits, on low cost hardware, that are still seen as superior despite being notably inferior. And the majority of people buying the products reject all proof telling them otherwise. And it has been this way for a long time, even before iPhone.
This is why Apple > Microsoft.
Let’s hope the world isn’t blind enough to see the potential of the rumored surface phone (and microsoft don’t screw it up). I would love to see Microsoft take its rightful place at the top of the tech world again.
I don’t think Appl now is > MS…look at SB and SP4, look at Hololens… look even at Windows 10.
Appl basically won hearts with first popular computer…and first popular MP3player..and morphed that into the example of a modern smartphone..people like bask Jobs flicking off IBM and the SB commercial…it was kind of cool and always expensive…gave people a “little touch of rich” for $199.
Now in 2016..that no longer works, Jobs dead, to feel rich fork over $649 , lack of wow products heck the watch with its barfy galaxy of apps was a joke ..slapping a $17K price tag even worse.
Best you get out of appl nowadays…. is a pinker rose gold Yay
I don’t think you will have to wait long for Microsoft to rise , they already have and they pretty much own the cloud space from a PASS and smart cloud perspective. They will do fine, appl not so much. They have to be perceived as best to keep going…they obviously are not “best” in 2016 and 2017.
I’ve never been an apple fan – from overpriced underpowered hardware, to confusing (despite people claiming user friendly) restrictive software that has never worked how i wanted it to.
But you can’t ignore how well they are doing as a business, and they are doing better than Microsoft as of right now. Declining though.
None of Apple appeals to me of course. While i enjoyed my ipod, i never liked it more than the product i had before (Creative Zen touch – much better product, but never became popular enough to be upgraded to ipod levels.), and i enjoyed the iPhone i owned (3gs), I don’t believe there is an Apple product available today that is superior to its competitors.
So Microsoft to me has always been a better company than Apple.
Hololens looks amazing, Surface phone is potentially what i’ve wanted (and what most phones have been trying to be) since 2004, and Windows has always been better than OSX, ignoring personal preference.
Still, the world is full of stupid ignorant people, and i think they are the majority. Microsoft might never get the appreciation or innovative appearance they deserve from the public.
The real test of a winner is when everyone is against you you still deliver. Did you see that JD Powers where Surface 4 and SB almost beat appl in satisfaction…. that should not even be close. look at PaulTthurrott the biggest windows blogger always criticizing Microsoft , or all the Windows 10 backlash or the surface sleep issues with sky lake BUT they basically with all that fuss still matched Appl which receives NONE of that level of criticism.
That is UNPRECEDENTED APPROVAL of SP4 and SB as products. I use a SP4 and its freakin awesome and will get better with the July Anniversary update….
I get it Microsoft is better i n fact the Planet Earth would be back in the 1850’s if Microsoft shuttered their doors tomorrow..no one can do what they do. So yes Microsoft brings it.
The only reason appl and google became “dominate” was 10 years of DOJ restrictions. Those are OVER. Like I said Microsoft runs the planet and appl rents space from them. Things will change since Microsoft literally changed the rules with Windows 10 and the cloud. Its in their ballpark now not appls or googles.
I was forced to use Microshaft’s horrible products from 1992 until 2007. It was a complete nightmare. From MS-DOS 5.0 which wasn’t so bad through abortions known as Windows 3.1, 3.11, NT 3.1, NT 4.0, 95, 98, 2000, Me, XP which wasn’t too bad, 7, yes worldwide pearshaped crap piece forgotten its silly name was skipped, until we could hack Mac OS 10.4.7 then 10.5 Leopard onto our computer. What a massive relief that was. Goodbye Microcrap, I hope to be completely rid of your existence in my existence one day. Still have to use it in Fusion to run a couple of games and one astrology prog. I use, unfortunately.