Six tech giants, compared for every $100 of revenue
Latest annual filings put company size on a common denominator: R&D or its disclosed proxy, cash capital expenditure, and net income for every $100 of revenue.
By Patrick MyersData as of August 10, 2026$100, Explained
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The first panel shows R&D or a disclosed proxy per $100 of revenue: Meta $28.55, Alphabet $15.16, Amazon $15.14 using a broader technology-and-infrastructure proxy, Microsoft $10.72, NVIDIA $8.57, and Apple $8.30. The second shows cash capital expenditure or a disclosed proxy: Microsoft $34.94, Meta $34.68, Alphabet $22.70, Amazon $18.39, Apple $3.06, and NVIDIA $2.80 using a combined property, equipment, and intangibles proxy. The third shows net income: NVIDIA $55.60, Microsoft $40.31, Alphabet $32.81, Meta $30.08, Apple $26.92, and Amazon $10.83. The three measures are separate ratios and must not be added. Fiscal periods differ and appear in the accompanying table.
What the numbers show
NVIDIA generated $55.60 of net income per $100 of revenue, ahead of Microsoft at $40.31 and Alphabet at $32.81.
Meta reported the highest comparable R&D intensity at $28.55 per $100; its cash-capex ratio nearly matched Microsoft's.
Amazon spent approximately $131.8 billion on property and equipment, but its revenue-normalized ratio trailed Microsoft, Meta, and Alphabet.
Why use a $100 denominator?
Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and NVIDIA operate at dramatically different scales. Comparing absolute spending alone tends to reward company size. Dividing each metric by revenue reveals how intensively each company spends or earns relative to its own sales.
Company size and revenue efficiency answer different questions. Amazon ranks first by total revenue but sixth by net income per $100 of revenue; NVIDIA moves from fifth in revenue to first after normalization. Fiscal periods differ.
The normalization shows three different business profiles. NVIDIA pairs unusually high net income with low company-level capital expenditure, consistent with a fabless model in which manufacturing partners carry much of the fabrication investment. Microsoft and Meta show far higher cash-capex intensity. Meta also reports the highest comparable R&D ratio in this group.
R&D intensity and net income do not move together uniformly. NVIDIA reports $8.57 of R&D and $55.60 of net income per $100 of revenue, while Meta reports $28.55 and $30.08. Amazon’s technology-and-infrastructure category is broader than standalone R&D.
Three separate measures—not slices of the same $100
The R&D, cash-capex, and net-income ratios must not be added together. R&D is a current-period operating expense. Cash capital expenditure creates assets that are generally expensed over time. Net income already reflects current R&D and current depreciation, among many other items.
Comparability notes
Amazon does not publish a standalone R&D line. Its technology and infrastructure category also includes store development, maintenance, curation, depreciation, rent, utilities, servers, and shared infrastructure. It is presented as a labeled proxy rather than directly comparable R&D.
NVIDIA combines purchases related to property and equipment and intangible assets into one cash-flow line. Its capital-expenditure figure is marked as the nearest disclosed proxy.
The companies use different fiscal-year endings, and net income can include large non-operating gains and losses. The result should not be read as a pure operating-margin comparison.
Raw values come from each company’s latest annual filing available by August 10, 2026. Every published ratio equals metric ÷ revenue × 100. Raw filing precision is retained and social labels round to one decimal.
The three panels are independent and non-additive. R&D is an operating expense, current cash capex is generally capitalized, and net income already reflects R&D, depreciation, and many other items.
Caveats and exclusions
Fiscal periods differ. Amazon’s technology-and-infrastructure category is broader than R&D. NVIDIA’s capex proxy includes intangibles. Net income may include non-operating gains or losses, and business mix plus outsourced infrastructure affects comparability.
Public SEC filings; factual values are extracted for original analysis and visualization. No issuer artwork is reproduced. Reconfirm filing availability and reuse requirements before publication.
