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Share-Based Compensation
 12 Months Ended
Sep. 27, 2025
Share-Based Payment Arrangement [Abstract]  
Share-Based Compensation Share-Based Compensation
2022 Employee Stock Plan
The Apple Inc. 2022 Employee Stock Plan (“2022 Plan”) is a shareholder-approved plan that provides for broad-based equity grants to employees, including executive officers, and permits the granting of RSUs, stock grants, performance-based awards, stock options and stock appreciation rights. RSUs granted under the 2022 Plan generally vest over four years, based on continued employment, and are settled upon vesting in shares of the Company’s common stock on a one-for-one basis. All RSUs granted under the 2022 Plan have dividend equivalent rights, which entitle holders of RSUs to the same dividend value per share as holders of common stock. A maximum of approximately 1.3 billion shares were authorized for issuance pursuant to 2022 Plan awards at the time the plan was approved on March 4, 2022.
Restricted Stock Units
A summary of the Company’s RSU activity and related information for 2025 is as follows:
Number of
RSUs
(in thousands)
Weighted-Average
Grant-Date Fair
Value Per RSU
Balance as of September 28, 2024163,326 $158.73 
RSUs granted73,466 $226.68 
RSUs vested(76,845)$159.85 
RSUs forfeited
(8,373)$183.03 
Balance as of September 27, 2025151,574 $189.75 
The weighted-average grant-date fair value of RSUs granted in 2024 and 2023 was $173.78 and $150.87, respectively. The Company estimates the grant-date fair value of RSUs based on the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant.
The total vesting-date fair value of RSUs was $17.1 billion, $15.8 billion and $15.9 billion for 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The majority of RSUs that vested in 2025, 2024 and 2023 were net share settled such that the Company withheld shares with a value equivalent to the employees’ obligation for the applicable income and other employment taxes, and remitted cash to the appropriate taxing authorities. Total payments to taxing authorities for employees’ tax obligations were $6.1 billion in 2025 and $5.6 billion in both 2024 and 2023.
Share-Based Compensation
The following table shows share-based compensation expense and the related income tax benefit included in the Consolidated Statements of Operations for 2025, 2024 and 2023 (in millions):
202520242023
Share-based compensation expense$12,863 $11,688 $10,833 
Income tax benefit related to share-based compensation expense$(3,602)$(3,350)$(3,421)
As of September 27, 2025, the total unrecognized compensation cost related to outstanding RSUs was $21.8 billion, which the Company expects to recognize over a weighted-average period of 2.5 years.