Apple's $100-Billion Milestone Proves Elusive

For the third time in as many years, Apple has come close to passing $100 billion in annual profit, only to fall just short of the elusive goal each time. The iPhone maker reported net income of $23.0 billion for its fourth fiscal quarter, bringing the total for the year to $97.0 billion. Last year, the company had come even closer, when it raked in $99.8 billion, missing the milestone by just an inch.

Only two companies have surpassed $100 billion in annual profit so far: Vodafone after selling its interest in Verizon Wireless in 2014 and Saudi Aramco which did it three times already, in 2018, 2021 and 2022.

As the following chart shows, Apple’s net income grew almost 50-fold since 2006, the year before the iPhone was released. In 2010, the company surpassed $10 billion in annual profit for the first time. During the 2011 holiday season, Apple’s quarterly profit passed the $10-billion milestone, before hitting $20 billion in 2019 and almost $35 billion in the last three months of 2021. As a result, Apple's trailing-twelve-months profit did surpass $100 billion in Q1 and Q2 2022, but a 10-percent drop in Q3 profits spoiled the company's chances of completing its first triple-digit fiscal year back then.