This fiscal year, Apple (AAPL 0.53%) spent $8.3 billion in capital expenditures, nearly double the $4.3 billion it spent in fiscal 2011. Of that total, approximately $865 million was spent on building up its retail stores, while the majority of it was spent on product tooling and advanced manufacturing processes. Apple now vastly outspends its competitors. Microsoft (MSFT 1.58%) spent $2.5 billion in cap ex over the past year, while Google's (GOOGL 0.54%) bill was $3.2 billion. However, when it comes to research and development expenses, Apple spends much less. Apple's $3.4 billion in R&D was lower than Microsoft's $10 billion and Google's $5.2 billion.