Google’s cash flows have been a mystery since it first launched the iPhone.
In 2018, Apple reported $9 billion in cash flow but its cash flow was only $2.5 billion.
Its cash flow fell short of analysts expectations of $15 billion.
In the past two years, Apple’s reported cash flow has increased to $19.2 billion but its actual cash flows fell short by $2 billion.
So how did Apple’s revenue grow to $24.5bn and its cash to $23.6bn in 2018?
The reason Apple is not getting any money from its iPhone patent sales is that the iPhone patent licensing deal with Apple expires at the end of the year and it has been unable to renew it.
While Apple was able to make $2,300 per patent, the contract only covers up to five patents and expires after 2019.
The company was able, however, to secure $8 billion in revenue through patent licensing in the first quarter of 2019.
Why are the patents so expensive?
The iPhone patents are worth around $6 billion per year in licensing fees and Apple has to pay royalties from royalties to the companies that use the patents.
The royalty rate for the iPhone is around $100 per unit.
Apple also has to purchase software licenses, such as its iOS operating system, from its partner companies.
It was not always this way however.
The first iPhone was launched in 2005 and the first software patents were released in 2007.
Apple has a large amount of software patents in its portfolio, but they are relatively small compared to the patents it licenses.
Apple’s total revenue from software patents is around half that of its total revenue.
So how can Apple avoid paying royalties to its partners?
Apple is a company that sells its products on a worldwide basis, so the iPhone patents must be purchased globally to avoid paying patent licensing fees.
Apple was also able to secure an agreement with Google to extend its patent licensing to smartphones.
However, this agreement is not permanent and is subject to the approval of the European Commission.
What are the implications of Apple’s patent licensing agreements with Google and Microsoft?
The patent licensing deals with Apple and Google have been plagued by patent lawsuits since 2006.
This has created a significant financial burden on Apple.
The patent lawsuits are currently costing Apple around $5 billion per month and will increase to $15.3 billion in 2019.
Apple is also paying the legal fees of the patent infringement lawsuits, which is costing it $4.7 billion per quarter.
Apple has a huge patent portfolio and it is difficult to find a solution to its patent problem.
Apple must either get rid of its patents or start paying patent royalties to these companies.