AI, ads and commerce push Apple’s App Store ecosystem to $1.4 trillion
In its latest intervention, Apple has published a new study by economists at Analysis Group data that claims its App Store ecosystem enabled $1.4 trillion in global economic activity in 2025, driven mainly by physical goods, services, advertising, and a growing wave of AI-powered apps, while arguing that most of this revenue was earned without developers paying commissions to Apple.
Fighting for the future of the App Store
It’s pretty clear that Apple is motivated to publish this information because it is working hard to stress that the App Store’s economic impact extends far beyond the commissions Apple collects on digital purchases, and should be regulated with that in mind, or not at all.
For Apple, the fact that most commerce occurs in areas where it takes no commission strengthens its argument that the App Store creates substantial value for developers and businesses, which of course it does.
What Apple didn’t cover in this report but has discussed recently is the fraud protections it has in place at the App Store, which prevented $2.2 billion in fraud in 2025, which is substantial given the store’s overall revenue came to $149b that year.
What Tim said
“Developers are the heartbeat of the App Store, and this year’s incredible milestone is a testament to their boundless creativity,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We are deeply committed to providing developers with the tools, technologies, and trusted platforms they need to build for the future. Together, developers are creating apps that enrich the lives of users around the world.”
What about the money?
There’s no doubt the App Store is an economic force multiplier. Apple’s status as an economic enabler is also made clear by its claim that 90% of all this economic activity generated no commission for Apple, because it came from categories such as physical goods, services, and advertising rather than digital purchases.
The App Store attracted an average of over 850 million weekly users across 175 countries and regions in 2025, the company said. According to Apple that massive global traffic generated:
- $1.1 trillion from physical goods and services (e-commerce, food delivery, ride-hailing, travel, etc.)
- $149 billion from digital goods and services (apps, games, subscriptions, in-app purchases)
- $151 billion from in-app advertising revenue
- (It is worth pointing out that if we assume Apple took just 10% of the $149b revenue subject to digital commissions that’s still quite a huge chunk of cash).
Apple also confirmed its App Store business has more than doubled in some major regions over the past six years, particularly the US, Europe, and China.
Physical goods and services accounted for the majority of total billings and sales in every region, with general retail ranking as the number one category across all markets. Beyond retail, local consumer habits drove distinct regional trends.
- Travel was the second-largest category of spending in physical goods and services in the U.S., Europe, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and Brazil.
- In Korea, food delivery and pickup took the second spot.
- In China, grocery and food delivery became the second- and third-largest categories, respectively.
AI is becoming a major driver
Finally, Apple highlighted the rapid growth of AI-powered applications, saying 40 of the top 100 apps on its store included consumer-facing AI features. Such AI-enabled apps experienced “stronger billing growth” than other top apps, it said.
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