During the last 4 months, Apple paid out $25 million per day to iOS developers
During yesterday's media event, Tim Cook gave us his typical update on all things App Store. Specifically, Cook informed us that the App Store now houses more than 1 million apps and has seen more than 60 billion downloads. But there's one data point in particular that's worth some extra attention, namely that Apple has thus far paid out US$13 billion to iOS developers.
Now anytime you're talking about "billions," you're clearly talking some serious business. Indeed, the $13 billion figure is so large it's easy to casually gloss over its significance. To help put the figure into perspective, here are some facts about Apple's App Store payouts to developers over the past five years.
1. The App Store has grossed $18.57 billion, with Apple keeping $5.57 billion of that.
With the $13 billion figure, and Apple's 70/30 revenue split, it's easy to deduce how much money Apple has grossed and netted. Since the App Store first opened up for business in July of 2008, Apple has netted $18.57 billion. Of that total, $13 billion was paid out to developers with Apple keeping the remaining $5.57 billion.
2. Apple's monthly payout to developers are not just increasing, they're also accelerating.
It took Apple nearly two years (June of 2010) to reach the $1 billion payment threshold to developers. Since then, the number of iOS devices has exploded, and naturally, the payouts to developers have increased at an accelerated rate.
From January 2012 to January 2013, Apple's payout to developers increased from $4 billion to $7 billion. That payout comes out to an average of $250 million a month to developers over the 12-month timeframe.
From June 2012 to June 2013, Apple's payout to developers increased from $5 billion to $10 billion, representing a cool $5 billion in payments in 12 months. That comes out to about $416 million per month in developer payouts during the 12-month timeframe.
From June 2013 to October 2013, Apple's payout to developers jumped from $10 billion to $13 billion. That's an increase of $3 billion in just four months. Translation? During the last fourth-month period, Apple has been paying out an average of $750 million per month to developers.
3. Over the last four months, Apple has paid out $25 million PER DAY to developers.
An average of $750 million per month comes out to $25 million per day in developer payouts. Again, that's $25 million every single day.
4. In one month, Apple pays to developers more money than the cumulative 2013 payroll of the three Major League Baseball teams with the highest payrolls.
The 2013 payroll for the New York Yankees was $228 million. The Dodgers come in second with $216 million, while the Phillies come in third with $165 million. If you add that all together, Apple could cover those teams' entire 2013 payroll with just one month of developer payouts.
