Apple, one of the largest companies in the world, announced its highest annual revenue to date in 2018. The company generated a total of 260 billion U.S. dollars in revenue in its 2019 fiscal year, a slight decrease from the previous year, but nevertheless significantly higher than 2017 when Apple generated 230 billion U.S. dollars in revenues. The iPhone has been the most profitable operating segment for the company over the last few years, and much of this recent growth in revenue can also be attributed to iPhone sales. Sales of the iPhone have been on the rise in the last few years, constantly increasing its share of Apple’s total revenue. The iPhone’s share of Apple’s total revenue reached the highest figure to date in the first quarter of 2018 (4Q ’17 calendar year), when 69.74 percent of Apple’s total revenue worldwide was generated by iPhone sales.
Considering the importance of the iPhone for Apple, it is no surprise the largest smartphone markets in the world are also the most profitable regional markets for the technology giant. As of the third quarter of 2020 (2Q ’20 calendar year), the Americas were the most profitable geographical region for Apple. Driven by the U.S. market, the region has been the most profitable one for the company since the beginning of 2012. Europe, a mature smartphone market, was the second biggest regional market for Apple. The region of Greater China held the largest share of global smartphone sales to end users in recent years