What Apple does
Apple Inc. is incorporated in California and has its principal offices at One Apple Park Way, Cupertino. It designs, manufactures and markets devices and related services. This profile covers the corporation and its wholly owned subsidiaries included in the consolidated accounts. Its manufacturing network includes suppliers with their own business identities: a factory producing for Apple is not necessarily an Apple subsidiary. This distinction matters when attributing revenue, employment, safety responsibilities and audit results.
Apple Form 10-K, fiscal year ended 26 September 2026, filed 3 November 2026
From personal computing to a digital ecosystem
The business originated on 1 April 1976 with cofounders Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The Computer History Museum documents Wayne’s brief initial involvement and the Apple II’s debut in 1977. Macintosh followed in 1984 and iPhone in 2007. The acquisition of NeXT brought Jobs back and supported a technological and commercial renewal. Subsequent development broadened the combination of computers, mobile devices, software and services. The 2026 anniversary celebrates those origins without replacing the current corporation’s legal identity.
50th anniversary, founding 1 April 1976 · Computer History Museum: Apple at 50 · Q4 and fiscal 2026 results, 2 November 2026
How the business works
Apple combines physical hardware with operating systems, applications, support and digital services. It sells through its own stores, online channels and distributors, earning revenue from products, subscriptions, advertising and other services. Integration enables devices and services to work together, while manufacturing relies substantially on external partners. For third-party apps sold through the App Store, Apple recognises the commission it retains as revenue. Total user spending in that marketplace should therefore not be confused with the group’s accounting net sales.
Apple Form 10-K, fiscal year ended 26 September 2026, filed 3 November 2026
Products and geographic segments
iPhone, Mac, iPad, Apple Watch, AirPods and Apple Vision Pro are product families. iCloud, Apple Music, Apple Pay and AppleCare are examples of services. Product categories differ from financial reporting segments: Americas, Europe, Greater China, Japan and Rest of Asia Pacific. The Europe segment also includes India, the Middle East and Africa. This classification reflects Apple’s organisation rather than strictly following continents. Product and segment sales are two breakdowns of the same total and should not be added together.
Apple Form 10-K, fiscal year ended 26 September 2026, filed 3 November 2026
The fiscal 2026 results
The latest complete financial year ended on 26 September 2026 and covers 52 weeks from 28 September 2025. Apple reported consolidated net sales of $478,834 million and operating income of $158,063 million in its US GAAP Form 10-K. Services contributed $123,301 million, already included in the total. Closing workforce was approximately 167,000 full-time-equivalent employees. This is not a count of everyone working in supplier factories and is not directly comparable with unadjusted employee headcount.
Apple Form 10-K, fiscal year ended 26 September 2026, filed 3 November 2026 · FY2026 consolidated financial statements in earnings release; unaudited, figures cross-checked against Form 10-K
Leadership and shareholding
John Ternus has been CEO since 1 September 2026. Tim Cook became Executive Chair and Arthur Levinson became Lead Independent Director. This transition separates current responsibilities from historical references to Cook as CEO. Apple trades on Nasdaq as AAPL. Its 2026 proxy identifies Vanguard and BlackRock among its beneficial shareholders, with different information dates explained in the footnotes. These investment holdings should not be presented as an industrial parent-subsidiary relationship or as percentages updated daily.
John Ternus, CEO · Tim Cook, Executive Chair · Apple current leadership · CEO succession announcement, 20 April 2026 · Apple 2026 Proxy Statement · Apple Form 10-K, fiscal year ended 26 September 2026, filed 3 November 2026
Recycling: Cora and the A.R.I.S. pilot
In April 2026, Apple documented the launch of Cora at its Advanced Recovery Center in California. The line combines precision shredding and sensors to separate materials from electronic waste. It also introduced A.R.I.S., a machine-learning detection system running on Mac mini that is being piloted with recycling partners. Cora is described as operating equipment; A.R.I.S. as a pilot. These are examples of process innovation and materials recovery, without evidence in the cited sources of an accident reduction attributable to either technology.
Safety in Apple’s own operations
The Form 10-K describes general safety and crisis-management training for employees and specific programmes for higher-hazard environments. The February 2026 EHS policy covers safe facility design, training in workers’ primary language, performance review and correction of non-conformities. These are commitments and management mechanisms. The reviewed sources do not support a single comparable injury rate covering Apple’s employees and all suppliers. This profile therefore does not treat the existence of programmes as evidence of accident-free operations.
Apple Form 10-K, fiscal year ended 26 September 2026, filed 3 November 2026 · Environmental Progress Report 2026 covering fiscal 2025
Machine safety at suppliers
Version 5 of the supplier standards, effective from 11 November 2025, requires a documented programme for purchasing, installing and operating machines used to manufacture, test and recycle Apple products. It covers risk assessment, guarding, controls and reassessment when equipment is installed, modified or repurposed. The supply-chain page reports participation by more than 900 supplier sites in safety training since 2022. This cumulative figure describes training reach; it neither certifies every site nor quantifies injuries prevented.
Supplier Code of Conduct and Responsibility Standards, version 5 effective 11 November 2025 · Apple supply chain innovation, 2025 activities
From chemical inventory to substitution
The 2026 environmental report, covering fiscal 2025, says more than 1,100 supplier facilities shared chemical inventories and storage and control information through Chemical Safety Disclosure. The programme identified over 14,000 distinct materials and chemicals used in manufacturing. This does not mean all are hazardous or that every exposure has been measured. Apple describes substance restrictions for cleaners and degreasers at final assembly sites and selection of alternatives. An inventory supports decisions on controls and substitution; its existence alone does not demonstrate elimination of risk.
Assessing, correcting and checking again
Apple reports 895 supplier-facility assessments in 2025, including 216 unannounced assessments. Its due-diligence document describes interviews, document review and site visits by external audit firms. When a violation is found, it requires a corrective plan and follow-up every 30 days; the most serious cases can restrict new business and trigger contact with supplier leadership. An external site assessment differs from universal certification or an enduring guarantee. The date, scope, findings and evidence of closure of each assessment also matter.
Listening to supply-chain workers
The standards include grievance channels and prohibit retaliation. Apple reports interviews and anonymous surveys of supplier workers, alongside channels for contacting the company directly. Its monitoring document reports more than 42,000 follow-up calls to check that interview participants had not experienced retaliation. This is reported verification activity, not an absolute guarantee. For prevention, such channels are useful when concerns reach someone able to address them and workers can raise them without adverse consequences.
How Apple holds suppliers accountable, 2025 data · Supplier Code of Conduct and Responsibility Standards, version 5 effective 11 November 2025
Certification with a defined scope
The environmental report reproduces an ISO 14001:2015 certificate for Apple Operations International Limited, based at Hollyhill, Cork. Its scope covers management of EMEA operational activities related to manufacturing, sales, delivery and after-sales support, with stated expiry on 10 July 2027. It certifies environmental management for the specified entity and scope. It is not ISO 45001 and does not automatically certify every supplier factory or every occupational risk in the group. Retaining the certificate holder and scope avoids presenting a scoped certificate as worldwide assurance.
Regulatory scrutiny of the ecosystem
On 23 April 2025, the European Commission fined Apple €500 million for breaching the Digital Markets Act obligation allowing developers to direct users to offers outside the App Store. The 2026 Form 10-K records Apple’s appeal and its position that it complies with the DMA. The administrative decision and the company’s position should be read separately. This case concerns the platform and digital-distribution model; it does not establish a finding about employee or supplier workplace safety.
European Commission DMA decision, 23 April 2025 · Apple Form 10-K, fiscal year ended 26 September 2026, filed 3 November 2026
What the case offers prevention practice
Sabentis Explora’s editorial interpretation is that Apple offers a way to examine how a purchasing company translates safety requirements into processes carried out by other organisations. Machine design, chemical information, supplier capability and worker voice form a chain of decisions requiring verification. Financial figures, social audits, environmental certificates and recycling projects describe different dimensions. Preserving their boundaries supports learning from specific controls without attributing unsupported safety outcomes or confusing policy with effective implementation.
Supplier Code of Conduct and Responsibility Standards, version 5 effective 11 November 2025 · How Apple holds suppliers accountable, 2025 data · Environmental Progress Report 2026 covering fiscal 2025 · Cora recycling and A.R.I.S. pilot, 16 April 2026
Frequently asked questions
Who currently leads Apple?
John Ternus has been CEO since 1 September 2026. Tim Cook is Executive Chair. Earlier references to Cook as CEO describe his role before that transition. [1] · [2] · [3]
Which period do the financial figures cover?
The 52-week fiscal 2026 year ran from 28 September 2025 to 26 September 2026. Revenue is consolidated; approximately 167,000 employees means full-time equivalents, not the entire supplier workforce. [1]
Do supplier controls prove that risks are absent?
No. Standards, inventories, training and audits are prevention and monitoring mechanisms. They must be assessed against scope, findings and effective correction. They are not a global injury rate or certification of every site. [1] · [2] · [3]
Are Cora and A.R.I.S. at the same stage?
The April 2026 announcement describes Cora as a launched recycling line in California and A.R.I.S. as a system being piloted with recycling partners. This profile preserves that distinction and does not assign unpublished safety outcomes. [1]
