AAPL vs CSCO
Apple Inc. and Cisco Systems, Inc., side by side — 10 fiscal years reported in USD, drawn from SEC filings.
Most recent reported year
| Metric | AAPL | CSCO |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $416.2B | $56.7B |
| Net income | $112.0B | $10.2B |
| Gross margin | 46.9% | 64.9% |
| Net margin | 26.9% | 18.0% |
| Return on equity | 171.4% | 22.1% |
| Diluted EPS | $7.46 | $2.55 |
| Dividend / share | $1.02 | $1.62 |
| Payout ratio | 13.8% | 63.2% |
| Free cash flow | $98.8B | $13.3B |
| Equity | $73.7B | $46.8B |
| Net debt / equity | 0.74× | 0.35× |
| Current ratio | 0.89× | 1.00× |
| Revenue CAGR 5y | 8.7% | 2.8% |
| Profit CAGR 5y | 14.3% | −1.9% |
AAPL bills 7.3× the revenue of CSCO, and keeps more of each dollar of revenue as profit (26.9% against 18.0%).
The stronger figure of the pair is set in bold. That is arithmetic, not a recommendation — this page does not pick a winner. "·" marks a figure not available in our data.
10 years side by side
| Fiscal year | AAPL | CSCO |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $416.2B | $56.7B |
| FY2024 | $391.0B | $53.8B |
| FY2023 | $383.3B | $57.0B |
| FY2022 | $394.3B | $51.6B |
| FY2021 | $365.8B | $49.8B |
| FY2020 | $274.5B | $49.3B |
| FY2019 | $260.2B | $51.9B |
| FY2018 | $265.6B | $49.3B |
| FY2017 | $229.2B | $48.0B |
| FY2016 | $215.6B | $49.2B |
Bottom line
| Fiscal year | AAPL | CSCO |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $112.0B | $10.2B |
| FY2024 | $93.7B | $10.3B |
| FY2023 | $97.0B | $12.6B |
| FY2022 | $99.8B | $11.8B |
| FY2021 | $94.7B | $10.6B |
| FY2020 | $57.4B | $11.2B |
| FY2019 | $55.3B | $11.6B |
| FY2018 | $59.5B | $110.0M |
| FY2017 | $48.4B | $9.6B |
| FY2016 | $45.7B | $10.7B |
18 fiscal years
| Fiscal year | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | +$359,507,000,000 | AAPL |
| FY2024 | +$337,232,000,000 | AAPL |
| FY2023 | +$326,287,000,000 | AAPL |
| FY2022 | +$342,771,000,000 | AAPL |
| FY2021 | +$315,999,000,000 | AAPL |
| FY2020 | +$225,214,000,000 | AAPL |
| FY2019 | +$208,270,000,000 | AAPL |
| FY2018 | +$216,265,000,000 | AAPL |
| FY2017 | +$181,229,000,000 | AAPL |
| FY2016 | +$166,392,000,000 | AAPL |
| FY2015 | +$184,554,000,000 | AAPL |
| FY2014 | +$135,653,000,000 | AAPL |
| FY2013 | +$122,303,000,000 | AAPL |
| FY2012 | +$110,447,000,000 | AAPL |
| FY2011 | +$65,031,000,000 | AAPL |
| FY2010 | +$25,185,000,000 | AAPL |
| FY2009 | +$6,788,000,000 | AAPL |
| FY2008 | −$2,049,000,000 | CSCO |
The higher-revenue side has changed between AAPL and CSCO over this period. The gap has widened since the earliest year compared.
18 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
18 fiscal years
| Fiscal year | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | +8.9 pp | AAPL |
| FY2024 | +4.8 pp | AAPL |
| FY2023 | +3.2 pp | AAPL |
| FY2022 | +2.4 pp | AAPL |
| FY2021 | +4.6 pp | AAPL |
| FY2020 | −1.8 pp | CSCO |
| FY2019 | −1.2 pp | CSCO |
| FY2018 | +22.2 pp | AAPL |
| FY2017 | +1.1 pp | AAPL |
| FY2016 | −0.6 pp | CSCO |
| FY2015 | +4.6 pp | AAPL |
| FY2014 | +5.0 pp | AAPL |
| FY2013 | +1.1 pp | AAPL |
| FY2012 | +9.2 pp | AAPL |
| FY2011 | +8.9 pp | AAPL |
| FY2010 | +2.1 pp | AAPL |
| FY2009 | +2.2 pp | AAPL |
| FY2008 | −4.0 pp | CSCO |
The higher net margin has changed hands between AAPL and CSCO over this period.
18 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Standard deviation, each side
CSCO's net margin has been more volatile than AAPL's over the 18 comparable fiscal years — 5.0 percentage points of standard deviation against 2.7.
18 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Year by year
The lead in net margin changed hands between AAPL and CSCO over these 18 fiscal years — AAPL led in 14 and CSCO in 4.
18 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Standard deviation, each side
AAPL's return on equity has been more volatile than CSCO's over the 18 comparable fiscal years — 56.1 percentage points of standard deviation against 7.6.
18 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Year by year
AAPL led in return on equity in every one of the 18 comparable fiscal years — a structural lead, not a recent swing.
18 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.