Apple (AAPL) App Store To Bring In $21.6 Billion In 2013

Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) App Store brought in $2.5 billion last year according to Gartner. The company accounted for 99% of all mobile application sales in 2009. Apple keeps 90% of that revenue.

Gartner predicts that the mobile application business is in its infancy and projects that the sales value of downloads will hit $29.5 billion with Apple taking $21.6 billion of that.

Most analysts have looked at the App Store as a what to tether iPhone and Ipod touch owners to the electronics company. That theory is based on the idea that the handset with the most flexible software packages will be the most successful handset company. The theory has borne out. Apple has downloaded three billion apps and have 150,000 applications in its store.

But, the rise in revenue has an altogether different implication. software downloads are profitable. Apple’s quarterly revenue is under $10 billion. A striking success with the App Store could make it a important to the company’s sales as the iPod or the Mac.

Douglas A. McIntyre