Revenue Recognition
Net sales consist primarily of revenue from the sale of hardware, software, digital content and applications, accessories, and service and support contracts. The
Company recognizes revenue when persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, delivery has occurred, the sales price is fixed or determinable and collection
is probable. Product is considered delivered to the customer once it has been shipped and title, risk of loss and rewards of ownership have been transferred. For
most of the Company’s product sales, these criteria are met at the time the product is shipped. For online sales to individuals, for some sales to education
customers in the U.S., and for certain other sales, the Company defers revenue until the customer receives the product because the Company retains a portion
of the risk of loss on these sales during transit. For payment terms in excess of the Company’s standard payment terms, revenue is recognized as payments
become due unless the Company has positive evidence that the sales price is fixed or determinable, such as a successful history of collection, without
concession, on comparable arrangements. The Company recognizes revenue from the sale of hardware products, software bundled with hardware that is
essential to the functionality of the hardware and third-party digital content sold on the iTunes Store in accordance with general revenue recognition accounting
guidance. The Company recognizes revenue in accordance with industry specific software accounting guidance for the following types of sales transactions:
(i) standalone sales of software products, (ii) sales of software upgrades and (iii) sales of software bundled with hardware not essential to the functionality of the
hardware.
For the sale of most third-party products, the Company recognizes revenue based on the gross amount billed to customers because the Company establishes its
own pricing for such products, retains related inventory risk for physical products, is the primary obligor to the customer and assumes the credit risk for amounts
billed to its customers. For third-party applications sold through the App Store and Mac App Store and certain digital content sold through the iTunes Store, the
Company does not determine the selling price of the products and is not the primary obligor to the customer. Therefore, the Company accounts for such sales on
a net basis by recognizing in net sales only the commission it retains from each sale. The portion of the gross amount billed to customers that is remitted by the
Company to third-party app developers and certain digital content owners is not reflected in the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Operations.