The Business StudyHow companies really make money.
Straight from their annual reports. 102 companies, every number sourced, explained in plain English.
Popular: Apple, Amazon, Costco, Coke vs Pepsi
Out of every $100 in sales, Apple kept
$27.60profit
$0$100 in sales
Net income ÷ revenue, year ended September 26, 2026. Source: Apple's annual report (Form 10-K).
102companies broken down
$9.21Tin revenue covered
33head-to-head match-ups
100%from SEC filings
The surprising part. Where the profit really comes from.
18% → 57%
AWS is a small slice of Amazon's sales and most of its profit.
Renting out servers was 18% of Amazon's revenue but 57% of its operating profit.
See the breakdown-$19.2BMeta's headsets and glasses lost money.
Reality Labs lost $19.2 billion in 2025, while the apps made $102 billion.
See the breakdown64%Costco's membership fees vs its whole profit.
Costco collected $5.9 billion in membership fees, equal to 64% of its $9.2 billion net profit.
See the breakdown$51Visa keeps more of every $100 than almost anyone.
Visa kept $51.20 of every $100 in the year ended September 30, 2026. Walmart kept $3.07.
See the breakdownWho keeps the most of every $100? Big companies, most to least.
Play with the numbers.
Watch the breakdowns. Under a minute each.
Every business model, explained.
Ads, subscriptions, franchising, taking a cut, payment networks and more: the dozen ways big companies make money.