This chart, put together by Bloomberg, shows the slim profit margins that Foxconn deals with to build millions of pieces of consumer electronics for clients like Apple -- which has seen its margins grow dramatically in recent years.

foxconnmargin
At the time of the iPhone launch in 2007, Apple's profit margins were at 15.4 percent, while Foxconn's was at 2.7. In the most recent quarter, Apple reported 30.8 percent margins -- double what it was 4 years ago -- with Foxconn at a mere 1.5 percent.

Foxconn has continued to grow with the tremendously successful launches of new iPhones and the iPad. The company has sacrificed margin growth so it can get volume and scale, something very important to Apple which puts extraordinary pressure on its suppliers for low prices.

While Foxconn's margins are extremely small in comparison to Apple, they do exceed those of a number of categories, including grocery stores and the global shipping industry.

Top Rated Comments

SandynJosh Avatar
174 months ago
While Foxconn's margins are thin, at least they are making money. That's something that many in the electronics industry can't say.

What is amazing, and everyone on this thread hasn't mentioned, is that Apple has been able to make extremely healthy profits on a large scale. Usually these kinds of profits are only possible in a tiny niche industry that is too small to attract wolves ready to make the same products for much smaller profits.

Apple protects their turf using a lot of tools, the patent suits being only one such. Rather then blast Apple for making healthy profits, one should laude them for doing what most other companies cannot figure out how to do: be innovative with their products, be innovative in setting up cost efficient production strategies, be innovative in marketing to their customers, and being innovative in hundreds (if not thousands) of unique ways.

Remember, Apple shouldn't have been successful with their stores, everyone predicted a huge failure. Remember how Steve Ballmer laughed at the idea Apple could be effective in the phone business. Remember how everyone's tablet up to the iPad flopped terribly. Apple is seeking to break ground in many areas where other's make very thin profits, including the TV industry.

It's almost like there's been a business tenet in place that if you are going to do large scale things in certain business sectors then you will only make razor thin profits. Apple is proving that idea wrong, and in doing so, may actually shock the business industry into rethinking some basic business tenets so that once again companies may start making money like it was the 50s or 60s again.

One more thing: do a search for an article in the New York Times titled Even a Giant Can Learn to Run.

It's about the turn-around at I.B.M. with the new C.E.O., Samuel J. Palmisano, in 2002. That's when the company shed the P.C. business along with other businesses that were not highly profitable. It's been so profitable that Warren E. Buffett, who typically shuns technology stocks, announced he had accumulated $10 billion of I.B.M. shares, a stake of more than 5 percent.

What I found most interesting about Mr. Palmisano is that he built the change at I.B.M. on four questions:
• “Why would someone spend their money with you — so what is unique about you?”
• “Why would somebody work for you?”
• “Why would society allow you to operate in their defined geography — their country?”
• “And why would somebody invest their money with you?”

It sounds obvious, but that's how change starts. Some companies break mental boundaries, and other can follow. There was a time no olympian could break the four-minute mile, however once one man did, it is now being done at high school meets.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
firewood Avatar
174 months ago
Foxconn should give apple a taste of the apple tax.
This "tax" is based purely on supply and demand. Nobody just "gives" tastes.

Apple can keep their prices and thus their profits high because a huge portion of their customer base has zero interest in buying a Dell or a Nokia thingy, even if it's 10%+ cheaper than Apple's stuff. The demand still strongly exists even at the higher price point.

However if Foxconn tried raising their prices more than just a bit, a whole bunch of other manufacturing companies would gladly jump in with a price in between, and many of Foxconn's customers would jump ship faster than a blur. The taste would be of a poisoned fruit Foxconn would end up eating themselves.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Cybbe Avatar
174 months ago
It's highly entertaining to see the fanboy brigade out in numbers, praising Apple as this god-like entity with a right to earn super-profits, asserting its suppliers should join in on the religious praise and be glad they are in business at all.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
samcraig Avatar
174 months ago


The reality of any business relationship is that one party will almost always end up needing the deal more, or needing the other more. If Foxconn feels "exploited" then they can renegotiate with Apple. For now, they have an agreement in place. If Foxconn's workers feel exploited, then it's a matter that is between them and Foxconn, not Apple.

I don't disagree per se. However - they might not actually be able to renegotiate or their hands might have been tied in the first place IF they wanted to sustain their business.

Further - it DOES say something about Apple if (and I say IF) Foxconn workers are exploited. It's not JUST a matter between the employees and Foxconn.

You can't deny that the press just loves to run with stories when someone at Foxconn gets injured, commits suicide, etc. And whether or not it's "fair" to Apple is irrelevant. They get the bad press.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cvaldes Avatar
174 months ago
Guess who convinced Steve to get Apple to dump its factories and outsource manufacturing?

Tim Cook.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JHankwitz Avatar
174 months ago
Isn't it time Apple started to bring manufacturing home?

They certainly would do bring manufacturing to the States if you would be willing to pay the price. You, the consumer decide what products sell.

I work with a company that purchases components from China. They get quotes from USA companies on a regular basis. China companies bid at 10-15% of what the USA companies bid. Using the US components would cause the final product sale price to jump by 400%. Would you buy an iPad if Apple charged 4 times its current price? I don't think so. They'd be out of business in no time.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Friday April 18, 2025 5:16 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday April 17, 2025 4:12 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
Beyond iPhone 13 Better Triad

Apple's 20th Anniversary iPhone May Finally Go All Screen

Tuesday April 15, 2025 6:31 am PDT by
Apple is preparing a "bold" new iPhone Pro model for the iPhone's 20th anniversary in 2027, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. As part of what's being described as a "major shake-up," Apple is said to be developing a design that makes more extensive use of glass – and this could point directly to the display itself. Here's the case for Apple releasing a truly all-screen iPhone with no...
maxresdefault

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Sunday April 13, 2025 7:52 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and ...
CarPlay Hero

Apple Releases Wireless CarPlay Fix

Wednesday April 16, 2025 11:28 am PDT by
If you have been experiencing issues with wireless CarPlay in your vehicle lately, it was likely due to a software bug that has now been fixed. Apple released iOS 18.4.1 today, and the update's release notes say it "addresses a rare issue that prevents wireless CarPlay connection in certain vehicles." If wireless CarPlay was acting up for you, updating your iPhone to iOS 18.4.1 should...
top stories 2025 04 19

Top Stories: iPhone 17 Pro Rumors, CarPlay Bug Fix, and More

Saturday April 19, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
This week saw rumor updates on the iPhone 17 Pro and next-generation Vision Pro, while a minor iOS 18.4.1 update delivered not just security fixes but also a fix for some CarPlay issues. We also looked ahead at what else is in Apple's pipeline for the rest of 2025 and even the 20th-anniversary iPhone coming in 2027, so read on below for all the details on these stories and more! iPhone 17 ...
iOS 18

iOS 18.5 Includes Only a Few Changes So Far

Monday April 21, 2025 11:00 am PDT by
Apple seeded the third beta of iOS 18.5 to developers today, and so far the software update includes only a few minor changes. The changes are in the Mail and Settings apps. In the Mail app, you can now easily turn off contact photos directly within the app, by tapping on the circle with three dots in the top-right corner. In the Settings app, AppleCare+ coverage information is more...