VERIFIEDBy Xavier Rivera· ·1 min read
Apple’s R&D Hits Record $11.4B in Q2 2026
Apple's fiscal Q2 2026 R&D spending hit a record $11.4 billion, up 34% year-over-year. The increase signals accelerated AI investments, though it lags peers like Alphabet and Meta.
Source:9to5Mac
TL;DRAI · 60 sec read
Apple reported $11.4 billion in research and development expenses for its fiscal Q2 2026, up 34% from Q2 2025 and marking the highest quarterly figure in company history.
The spending has climbed from roughly $6 billion range in 2022 to more than $11 billion now. It sharply increased between Q4 2025 and Q1 2026, crossing $10 billion for the first time.
During the earnings conference call, CEO Tim Cook addressed a question from Bank of America analyst Wamsi Mohan on AI investments. “We are clearly investing more. You can see that in the OPEX (Operating expenses) numbers, and if you click down on those, a step deeper, and look at the R&D areas separate (from) SG&A (Selling, General and Administrative), youll find that R&D is even accelerating much higher than the company is. So were clearly investing, were investing in products and services,” Cook said. R&D was explicitly mentioned only once on the call.
Apple trails larger tech peers in R&D: Alphabet reported $17 billion, up from $13.5 billion year-ago; Meta $17.6 billion from $12.1 billion; Microsoft $8.9 billion from $8.1 billion.
Apple's Q2 2026 revenue reached $111.2 billion, up 17% year-over-year.
The spending has climbed from roughly $6 billion range in 2022 to more than $11 billion now. It sharply increased between Q4 2025 and Q1 2026, crossing $10 billion for the first time.
During the earnings conference call, CEO Tim Cook addressed a question from Bank of America analyst Wamsi Mohan on AI investments. “We are clearly investing more. You can see that in the OPEX (Operating expenses) numbers, and if you click down on those, a step deeper, and look at the R&D areas separate (from) SG&A (Selling, General and Administrative), youll find that R&D is even accelerating much higher than the company is. So were clearly investing, were investing in products and services,” Cook said. R&D was explicitly mentioned only once on the call.
Apple trails larger tech peers in R&D: Alphabet reported $17 billion, up from $13.5 billion year-ago; Meta $17.6 billion from $12.1 billion; Microsoft $8.9 billion from $8.1 billion.
Apple's Q2 2026 revenue reached $111.2 billion, up 17% year-over-year.
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