Apple’s US App Store topped $400B in developer billings and sales in 2024

Summary

Just ahead of its Worldwide Developers Conference next month, Apple on Thursday announced new figures related to the U.S. App Store’s financial success. The company says its U.S. App Store ecosystem has generated $406 billion in developer billings and sales in 2024 — a figure that’s nearly tripled in size since 2019, when it then generated $142 billion. Apple also made a point to note that, for 90% of the billings and sales facilitated by the App Store, developers paid no commission. The new figures come from an Apple-funded study conducted by Professor Andrey Fradkin from Boston University Questrom School of Business and economist Dr. Jessica Burley from Analysis Group. The Analysis Group has been working with Apple for years amid growing antitrust scrutiny to create reports and studies that showcase the App Store’s market power in a more favorable light and as a net positive for developers. In particular, these studies have stressed that only a small sliver of Apple’s developer base even pays Apple commissions, and the majority of those who do so are on a Small Business plan or other programs where their commission is reduced from the standard 30% to 15%. However, those findings haven’t protected Apple from being forced to open up the App Store to increased competition in the U.S. Last month, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled that Apple had violated the court’s order arising from Fortnite maker Epic Games’ lawsuit that had required Apple to reform its App Store’s policy around external payments. As a result of that ruling, Apple was forced to let developers add links to their app that point to web payment options, where Apple is not allowed to take a commission. Apple is now in the process of appealing the ruling. The years-long fight over App Store commissions has led to increased hostility and disappointment from members of the iOS developer community, who believe that their applications are part of the reason for the iPhone’s historical success. ...