Apple‘s services business has become a profit center for the tech giant, setting revenue records seemingly every quarter. And it has become an obsession center for Hollywood, housing the company’s Apple TV platform, its film division, Apple Music, Apple News and the Apple One bundle.
In a note Monday morning, Apple senior VP of services Eddy Cue, who oversees that sprawling empire, reflected on what he framed as a record-breaking 2025, and teed up 2026, writing that “as we look ahead, we’ll continue to bring innovation and intelligent enhancements to Apple services, always guided by our commitment to privacy and a phenomenal customer experience.”
Apple has remained frustratingly quiet on the reach of Apple TV, declining to release any public subscriber metrics. However Cue wrote that December “set a new monthly record” for engagement and viewership, “with total hours viewed up 36 percent compared to the previous year.” That growth was driven by the series Pluribus, which he calls the “biggest series to date” for the platform (take that Ted Lasso!), as well as the streaming debut of F1, The Family Plan 2, and the timeless Peanuts classic A Charlie Brown Christmas.
Apple Music set records in both listenership and new subscribers, though the company does not break out either metric.
Of course Apple’s services business is a lot more than TV and music. The app store continues to be at the heart of it, with Cue revealing that it now has “over 850 million average weekly users” and that developers “have earned more than $550 billion since 2008.” He also revealed a new metric about Apple Pay, namely that it “generated more than $100 billion in incremental merchant sales globally while eliminating over $1 billion in fraud.”
Apple has leveraged its suite of services to bulk up its Apple One bundle, which combines TV, Music Arcade and iCloud storage as well as other functionality into one offering.
But changes to Apple TV, from its name to its aggressive investment in sports with Formula 1 to its first real bundle with Peacock to a unique partnership with Chase suggest that Cue and Apple are serious about growing that streaming platform’s footprint and viewership.
