Apple (AAPL) Return on Sales [ROS] (2009 - 2026)
Apple's Return on Sales [ROS] was 31.13% in fiscal Q4 2026 (quarter ended Sep 26, 2026), down 0.52 percentage points from 31.65% a year earlier and down 1.50 percentage points from the prior quarter.
Apple (AAPL) Return on Sales [ROS] (2009 - 2026) Analysis & Trends
For FY2026 (ended Sep 26, 2026), Return on Sales [ROS] at Apple came in at 33.01%, up 1.04 percentage points from FY2025.
- Return on Sales [ROS] has now increased for three consecutive fiscal years, with a five-year change of +3.23 percentage points (FY2021 to FY2026).
- In earlier fiscal years, Return on Sales [ROS] was 31.97% in FY2025 (+0.46 pp), 31.51% in FY2024 (+1.69 pp), 29.82% in FY2023 (-0.47 pp) and 30.29% in FY2022 (+0.51 pp).
- The fiscal Q4 2026 figure marks the lowest quarterly Return on Sales [ROS] since fiscal Q3 2025.
- Compared with a year earlier, Return on Sales [ROS] was higher in seven of the last eight quarters, with an average year-over-year change of +0.77 percentage points.
- The best year-over-year quarter for Return on Sales [ROS] over five years was fiscal Q1 2022 (a gain of 3.38 percentage points); the worst was fiscal Q1 2023 (a drop of 2.73 percentage points).
- Per Business Quant data, AAPL's Return on Sales [ROS] in the three fiscal quarters before Q4 2026 was 32.62% (Q3 2026), 32.28% (Q2 2026) and 35.37% (Q1 2026).
Peer Comparison
| # | Company | Market Cap | Enterprise Value | Gross Profit (Qtr) | ROS (Qtr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apple | 5,020.54 Bn | 4,766.00 Bn | 54.82 Bn | 31.13% |
| 2 | Cisco Systems | 371.11 Bn | 307.04 Bn | 11.06 Bn | 24.72% |
| 3 | Arista Networks | 215.34 Bn | 164.54 Bn | 2.33 Bn | 44.90% |
| 4 | Dell Technologies | 212.13 Bn | 167.88 Bn | 9.83 Bn | 11.46% |
| 5 | Sony | 161.14 Bn | 95.68 Bn | 7.96 Bn | 18.15% |
| 6 | Sandisk | 122.92 Bn | 107.75 Bn | 9.38 Bn | 79.59% |
| 7 | Seagate Technology Holdings | 105.29 Bn | 100.14 Bn | 2.43 Bn | 48.76% |
| 8 | Western Digital | 96.46 Bn | 86.29 Bn | 2.53 Bn | 46.70% |
| 9 | Hewlett Packard Enterprise | 59.75 Bn | 37.63 Bn | 4.93 Bn | 11.41% |
| 10 | Garmin | 55.13 Bn | 44.69 Bn | 1.26 Bn | 30.80% |
Historic Data
| Date | Value |
|---|---|
| Sep 26, 2026 | 31.13% |
| Jun 27, 2026 | 32.62% |
| Mar 28, 2026 | 32.28% |
| Dec 27, 2025 | 35.37% |
| Sep 27, 2025 | 31.65% |
| Jun 28, 2025 | 29.99% |
| Mar 29, 2025 | 31.03% |
| Dec 28, 2024 | 34.46% |
| Sep 28, 2024 | 31.17% |
| Jun 29, 2024 | 29.56% |
| Mar 30, 2024 | 30.74% |
| Dec 30, 2023 | 33.76% |
| Sep 30, 2023 | 30.13% |
| Jul 1, 2023 | 28.12% |
| Apr 1, 2023 | 29.86% |
| Dec 31, 2022 | 30.74% |
| Sep 24, 2022 | 27.62% |
| Jun 25, 2022 | 27.82% |
| Mar 26, 2022 | 30.82% |
| Dec 25, 2021 | 33.47% |
Apple Return on Sales [ROS] API
Pull this series into your own models, spreadsheets and apps with the Business Quant
Historical Metrics API. The request below matches the chart above — change the
frequency, period or values and it follows. Swap YOUR_API_KEY for your own key.
https://data.businessquant.com/historic?slug=return-on-sales-%5Bros%5D&ticker=AAPL&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEY
import requests
url = "https://data.businessquant.com/historic"
params = {"slug": "return-on-sales-[ros]", "ticker": "AAPL", "period": "max", "api_key": "YOUR_API_KEY"}
data = requests.get(url, params=params).json()
const res = await fetch("https://data.businessquant.com/historic?slug=return-on-sales-%5Bros%5D&ticker=AAPL&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEY");
const data = await res.json();