you are spot on with that thought. accounting for r&d is pretty much an accounting/financial call. rather than accounting for costs, you capitalise that cost/ca

you are spot on with that thought. accounting for r&d is pretty much an accounting/financial call. rather than accounting for costs, you capitalise that cost/capex as an asset, which can later be amortised in x years. i'm guessing that given that apple generates billions in profits, it would rather account much of its r&d as an operating expense, reducing the immediate tax bill.