“It’s not a separate, stand-alone feature. It’s a feature of our devices. So we don’t have a separate profit and loss statement for the App Store,” Cook said in testimony.
Emails of Apple executives show that Apple executives had, in fact, talked about the large profitability of the App Store. Cook says those numbers weren’t “fully loaded” and could not be used to make business decisions. He finally acknowledged the App Store was profitable. When questioned about how he knew, Cook said blandly that “We have a feel.”
Analysts have estimated the App Store could make up as much as 30% of Apple’s services division, which posted revenue of $16.9 billion for the March quarter. The suit is a big deal because a ruling against Apple on fees could slow its sales growth.
Monopoly or not?
Cook said the App Store provides a massive audience for developers and is streamlined, secure, and convenient for consumers. “We always put the user at the center of everything,” he insisted.
Noting the 1.8 million apps on the service and almost 2 million people working in the “iOS job economy” Cook testified that Apple was largely responsible for the boom. The iOS operating system has a 30% market share in the U.S. And 15% of the global market where Android has the larger share.
