By Adam Clark

Apple has consistently been the most efficient of the major U.S. technology companies when measured on revenue generated per employee.

However, Meta Platforms is closing in on that title after multiple rounds of mass layoffs which it is continuing this year.

Apple generated around $2.4 million in revenue per employee in its latest fiscal year, according to FactSet, broadly stable from the previous year. That figure has been largely flat since fiscal 2021.

Meanwhile, Meta generated $2.2 million in revenue per employee, which was a significant increase from $2.0 million the previous year. Google-parent Alphabet was another to sharply increase its efficiency, with revenue per employee climbing to $1.9 million from $1.7 million.

Notably both Meta and Alphabet achieved those rises while also increasing the size of their workforce. Meta reported a workforce of 74,067 employees as of Dec.31 2024, up from 67,317 employees a year before -- although still notably down from the more than 86,000 it had at the end of 2022. Meta CEO Zuckerberg declared a 'Year of Efficiency' in 2023 when the company cut thousands of roles.

Meta could be about to get closer to Apple. The Facebook-owner told Barron's in January that it plans to cut roughly 5% of its employees this year, targeting its lowest performers, with the intent of hiring new people to fill their roles.

Alphabet had 183,323 employees at the end of 2024, up from 182,502 at the end of 2023. Its Google business recently laid off hundreds of employees in its platforms and devices unit, technology-focused outlet The Information reported earlier this month.

Microsoft's revenue per employee came in at $1.1 million and Amazon generated around $410,000 per member of its workforce.

The figures might not be exactly comparable, depending on whether companies fill open positions and how their head count has changed since each one's most recent annual report.

Apple had 164,000 full-time equivalent employees on Sept. 28, up from 161,000 at the same time the prior year. Microsoft had around 228,000 full-time employees at the end of June last year, rising from 221,000 at the same date the previous year.

Amazon has by far the largest workforce due to its retail operations, having around 1.56 million full-time and part-time employees at the end of last year, up from 1.53 million the previous year.

Write to Adam Clark at adam.clark@barrons.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

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April 18, 2025 10:17 ET (14:17 GMT)

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