W.055Apple’s new chief executive is pushing to speed up its AI work, Bloomberg reports. Apple’s research spending rose 32% in fiscal 2026 while its capital spending fell 29%, to about a twenty-fourth of Amazon’s
John Ternus has pressed software chief Craig Federighi to move faster on software and AI, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported on November 8. Apple’s fiscal 2026 accounts show research and development up 32% to $45.8B, more than twice the 15% rise in sales, while its spending on property and equipment fell 29% to $9.0B. Amazon’s purchases of property and equipment were $215B in its last twelve months, about 24 times as much.
The report
Ternus wants Apple’s software and AI work to go faster, Gurman reported. Apple’s chief executive since September met privately with Federighi in recent weeks and pushed him to move “quickly beyond merely making necessary improvements to Siri,” according to accounts of Gurman’s Sunday newsletter. Gurman believes Apple could make Siri more like an agent as early as next year, ShiftDelete reported; Apple has announced no such product. Mike Rockwell, who runs Siri engineering, continues to seriously consider stepping down, the report said; there is no sign Federighi will leave.
Apple says it is spending more on AI; the increase shows up mostly in operating costs. Its finance chief told analysts on November 2 that Apple continues to significantly increase its investments in AI, and guided December-quarter operating expenses to $20.4–20.8B, up 11–13%, on research and AI. Siri AI shipped as a beta with iOS 27 in September, built with Google’s Gemini models. The annual report warns that investing in data center capacity increases capital spending, but Apple gave no capital spending guidance.
Apple’s R&D rose by $11.2B last year. Its capital spending fell by $3.7B
$ billions, fiscal years to late September. Left bar: research and development. Right bar: payments for acquisition of property, plant and equipment, from the cash-flow statement. Fiscal 2026 and 2025 from Apple’s fourth-quarter release of November 2, 2026; fiscal 2024 and 2023 from its fourth-quarter 2024 statements.
Where Apple’s money goes
Research grew faster than in the two years before. R&D grew +32% in fiscal 2026, against +10% in fiscal 2025 and +5% in fiscal 2024, and reached 9.6% of sales. The fiscal 2026 annual report ties the rise to AI infrastructure and headcount, according to sec-api.io’s reading of it. Licensed intangible assets rose 84% in the year, to about $29.6B gross, by the same reading; the filing does not name the licensors.
Capital spending went the other way. Payments for property and equipment fell to $9.0B, 1.9% of sales, the lowest share in the four years shown. R&D and capital spending together rose +16%, to $54.8B. Apple’s annual report says it uses its own data centers and also relies on third-party cloud providers; rented compute generally appears as operating costs, and licensed models as intangibles, not as payments for property and equipment.
The hyperscalers are spending at a different scale. In the twelve months to September, Amazon’s purchases of property and equipment were $215.2B, about 24 times Apple’s fiscal-year figure; Alphabet’s purchases were about $160B (18 times), and Meta’s capital spending, including finance-lease principal, about $108B (12 times). Amazon guides to about $220B for 2026, Alphabet to $195–205B and Meta to $135–145B.
R&D reached 9.6% of Apple’s sales. Capital spending fell to 1.9%
Percent of net sales, fiscal years to late September. R&D from the income statement; capital spending is payments for property, plant and equipment. Same sources as the chart above.
Amazon spent about 24 times as much on property and equipment as Apple
$ billions, twelve months to September 30, 2026; Apple’s fiscal year to September 26, 2026. Definitions differ: Amazon and Alphabet are purchases of property and equipment; Meta includes principal payments on finance leases; Apple is payments for property, plant and equipment. Alphabet and Meta are derived from nine-month figures plus the fourth quarter of 2025 (approximate). Microsoft is left out: we could not confirm its twelve-month figure.
The figures behind the charts
| Apple, $M | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net sales | 383,285 | 391,035 | 416,161 | 478,834 |
| R&D | 29,915 | 31,370 | 34,550 | 45,765 |
| Payments for PP&E | 10,959 | 9,447 | 12,715 | 9,041 |
| R&D, % of sales | 7.80% | 8.02% | 8.30% | 9.56% |
| PP&E, % of sales | 2.86% | 2.42% | 3.06% | 1.89% |
What this changes on 06.ai
- Ads-and-capex pack: Apple is the large tech company whose AI spending runs through operating costs and licences, not data centers; its capital spending fell in a year the others’ rose steeply. Worth a line as the counter-case.
- Worth tracking: Apple’s licensed intangibles and December-quarter operating expenses, as the measure of what it pays others for AI; its next results, for the quarter to December, are the first test of the $20.4–20.8B guide.
Sources and method
| Item | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Ternus met privately with Federighi in recent weeks and is pushing him to speed up software and AI work; Rockwell continues to seriously consider stepping down; no sign Federighi will leave | 9to5Mac, Nov 8, on Bloomberg |
| Report | Apple could make Siri more like an agent as early as next year, Gurman believes | ShiftDelete, Nov 8 |
| Report | Apple reportedly exploring a Siri that pursues goals more autonomously | The Apple Post, Nov 8 |
| Apple | Fiscal 2026 and 2025: net sales $478.8B and $416.2B; R&D $45.8B and $34.6B; payments for property, plant and equipment $9.0B and $12.7B | Apple 8-K, exhibit 99.1, Nov 2, 2026 |
| Apple | Fiscal 2024 and 2023: net sales, R&D and payments for property, plant and equipment | Apple, Q4 FY2024 statements |
| Apple | Annual report: significant investments in AI features and related infrastructure; relies on third-party cloud providers in addition to its own data centers; data center investment increases capital expenditures | Apple 10-K, fiscal 2026 |
| Apple | Licensed intangible assets, gross, $16.1B to $29.6B; licensors not named; R&D rise tied to AI infrastructure and headcount | sec-api.io, reading the 10-K |
| Apple | December-quarter operating expenses guided to $20.4–20.8B, up 11–13%, on R&D and AI; “we continue to significantly increase our overall investments in AI” | Earnings call transcript, Nov 2 |
| Apple | Apple’s AI spending bucks the Big Tech trend; capex down 29% | CFO Dive, Nov 3 |
| Apple | Siri AI shipped as a beta with iOS 27 on September 14, built in collaboration with Google’s Gemini models | The Next Web, Sep 15 |
| Amazon | Purchases of property and equipment, twelve months to Sep 30, 2026: $215.2B; 2026 cash capex about $220B | Amazon Q3 2026 release, Oct 29 |
| Alphabet | Purchases of property and equipment, nine months to Sep 30: $132.0B (2025: $63.6B); 2026 guidance $195–205B | Alphabet 10-Q, Q3 2026 |
| Alphabet | Fiscal 2025 capital spending $91.4B | Fintool, on Alphabet’s Q4 2025 results |
| Meta | Capital spending including finance-lease principal, Q3 2026 $34.9B; 2026 guidance $135–145B | Meta Q3 2026 release |
| Meta | Q4 2025 capital spending $22.1B | Meta Q4 2025 release |
We read Gurman’s newsletter through the accounts above; Bloomberg’s page was not available to us. Growth: R&D 45,765 ÷ 34,550 − 1 = +32.5%; sales 478,834 ÷ 416,161 − 1 = +15.1%; capital spending 9,041 ÷ 12,715 − 1 = −28.9%. Changes: R&D +11.2B, capital spending −3.7B. Shares of sales: each year’s figure ÷ that year’s net sales. Alphabet, twelve months: 131,953 + (91,400 − 63,596) = 159,757, approximate because the fiscal 2025 total is rounded. Meta, twelve months: 85,824 + 22,140 = 107,964. Multiples: each ÷ Apple’s 9,041: Amazon 23.8×, Alphabet 17.7×, Meta 11.9×.
Wire reports are written within hours of the news, on a six-hour schedule. Each lists its sources and shows the arithmetic behind its figures. Not investment advice.