AirPods sales exceed Nintendo’s revenue, they could become Apple’s third most profitable product

AirPods sales exceeded $18 billion a year, surpassing giants such as Nintendo, Spotify and eBay in revenue. The headphones, first introduced by Apple eight years ago, could become the company’s third most profitable product by the end of the decade.

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According to TechSpot, annual revenue from AirPods sales exceeds Nintendo’s total 2023 revenue of approximately $10 billion, once again highlighting Apple’s scale and influence, cementing it as one of the most valuable companies in the world.

AirPods earn more than many well-known companies. According to the information, revenue from headphone sales alone exceeds the annual revenue of Spotify, eBay, Airbnb, DoorDash and OpenAI. While this data only covers revenue and doesn’t include bottom line, it clearly demonstrates the growing importance of AirPods to Apple. At the same time, Bloomberg analysts predict that in the coming years, headphones may overtake the iPad in terms of profitability and take an honorable third place in the list of the company’s most profitable products (after the iPhone and Mac).

Image Source: Bloomberg.com

A key factor in the success of AirPods remains their affordable price compared to other Apple devices such as the iPad and Mac. However, the high level of “linkage” of the product to the Apple ecosystem also plays an important role. For example, in 2022, AirPods were used by about 40% of iPhone owners. And given that there are about 1.5 billion active iPhones in the world, this translates into 600 million AirPods users.

It is noted that the popularity of these headphones among iPhone owners will only grow. The share of iPhone users with AirPods is projected to grow to 52% by 2027, and to 60% by 2030, which could ultimately lead to a 12% annual increase in headphone sales, based on the projected 5% growth in iPhone sales over the same period.

It is also worth noting the popularity of AirPods among young people. Research shows that 62% of people aged 18 to 24 already own the product, and this loyalty among younger audiences could be a key factor in further sales growth and cementing AirPods as one of Apple’s most successful products.