Apple Inc's iTunes Business a Possible Fortune 500 Company; Revenues Nearly Half as Google's Search Biz
Apple Inc's investors may have overlooked something that might ease their doubts regarding the company's future growth. Asymco's Horace Dediu stacked and compared revenue categories of Google's core business and Apple's iTunes division.
Mr Dediu reported that Apple's iTunes division has gross revenues of $23.5 billion with 34 per cent growth year over year. He said the iTunes business is almost half of Google's search business and believes Apple's iTunes division will "grow slightly faster."
If Apple's iTunes/Software/Services division were a separate business or company, it would be ranked 130 in the Fortune 500. This makes iTunes bigger than companies like CBS and Xerox, according to a report by Fortune.
Apple Inc's iOS platform share continues to grow in the United States while Android is showing a slight decline. Based on comScore data, Apple gained 1.2 per cent in three months with a total platform market share of 41.8 per cent. Google's Android OS lost 0.3 per cent in the same period with a total market share of 51.5 per cent.
Record-breaking App Store revenues during the holidays
Aside from selling more iPhones and iPads during the holiday season, the company is also selling more apps in the App Store. In 2013, the App Store sold apps worth over $10 billion. Apple takes 30 per cent of all app sales and has acquired more than $3 billion in revenue.
The latest milestone is reflective of the iPhone and iPadcycle. When an Apple device owner begins to buy apps or make in-app purchases, he or she is more inclined to buy a new Apple device in the future. Spending money in the App Store can help strengthen a user's ties to Apple's iOS.
The $10 billion from app sales is only a small fraction of the $91 billion iPhone sales generated in the fiscal year ended in September 2013. Apple Inc has previously said December was going to be the strongest month for the App Store.
Since 2008, iOS developers have earned $15 billion from the App Store which suggests total sales of more than $21 billion. The first few years of the App Store and Apple's lead in the smart phone market have prompted developers to launch their apps in the iOS platform first. Some apps were available exclusively on the App Store. This gave Apple an edge over Google's Android OS.