Analyst: Apple iPhone took 87.4% of mobile phone profits in Q4

“After four straight years of double-digit growth, the mobile phone market has hit a wall. Excluding Chinese vendors, the industry is likely to see little or no revenue growth this year, Raymond James analyst Tavis McCourt said in a research note late Monday,” Patrick Seitz reports for Investor’s Business Daily. “‘The great moderation of mobile device growth is upon us,’ McCourt wrote.

“‘In aggregate, we believe the industry ex-Chinese vendors is likely to see little to no growth this year,’ he said. ‘Chinese-based vendors now account for 30% of industry revenue and 40% of industry volumes, and although growth is still elevated at Chinese-based vendors, we suspect these vendors will slow in 2014 as well, as China’s end markets for smartphones slow.'”

“Apple and Samsung continue to soak up all the industry’s profits, McCourt says. Apple claimed 87.4% of phone earnings before interest and taxes in the fourth quarter, he said. Samsung took in 32.2% of industry profits. Because their combined earnings were higher than the industry’s total earnings as a result of many vendors losing money in Q4, Apple and Samsung mathematically accounted for more than 100% of the industry’s earnings,” Seitz reports. “A year ago, Apple accounted for 77.8% of mobile phone industry profits, followed by Samsung with 26.1%, McCourt said.”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: 87.4% of the mobile phone industry profits. YKBAID.

Related articles:
Android has the most unit share, but Apple dominates profit share, making more money than all Android smartphone makers combined – November 15, 2013
Android users poorer, shorter, unhealthier, less educated, far less charitable than Apple iPhone users – November 13, 2013
IDC data shows two thirds of Android’s 81% smartphone share are cheap junk phones – November 13, 2013
IDC: Android worldwide smartphone market share passes 80% – November 12, 2013
Apple Maps makes killer comeback as Google Maps loses access to world’s most desirable mobile customers – November 12, 2013
Android phones 3 times more likely than Apple iPhones to have been bought at discount store – August 22, 2013
CIRP: Apple iPhone users are younger, richer, and better educated than those who settle for Samsung knockoff phones – August 19, 2013
Twitter heat map shows iPhone use by the affluent, Android by the poor – June 20, 2013
Apple’s iPhone generates more in carrier fees than rival smartphones – January 30, 2013
Unsurprisingly, survey says Apple’s iOS is highest priority among mobile developers – January 23, 2013
People buy more Android phone units and do less with them vs. Apple’s revolutionary iPhone – November 14, 2012
Study: iPad users more likely to buy – and buy more – online than traditional PC users – September 29, 2011
iPhone users smarter, richer than Android phone users – August 16, 2011
Yankee Group: Apple iPhone owners shop more, buy more, remain more loyal vs. other device users – July 20, 2010
iPhone owners more likely to pay for digital content – November 26, 2009
Study: Apple iPhone users richer, younger, more productive than other so-called ‘smartphone’ users – June 12, 2009
Apple iPhone users buy many more apps, surf the Web much more than other ‘smartphone’ users – March 27, 2009

22 Comments

    1. The iPhone is stealing candy from the children!
      So the children’s parents have employed the bogey anal ysts to scare Apple’s iPhone away.
      Fat good it will do to you lot! 🙂

  1. So much for a strategy to saturate the markets with cheap phones and BOGO deals. I guess they were hoping people would get locked into their ecosystem. Thing is, most Android users don’t pay for apps, they like free. Plus, it’s no big deal accessing magazine subscriptions and purchased books on another mobile device. I know, because I switched to an iPad Air from a Kindle I had gotten for free when I signed a new cable TV contract. I simply loaded the Kindle app on my iPad, logged in, and had access to all my Kindle book downloads

    There is no brand loyalty with the Android users, while iOS users have it in spades. I never met someone who said they wanted to get rid of their iPhone in favor of an Android model. Quite the opposite actually. And Microsoft never even got out the gate with their phone, a pretty pathetic attempt on their part. All that’s left now, are the scraps and crumbs left in Apple’s wake for the others to make a dying attempt to succeed, good luck with that.

    1. Microsoft should have made their move much earlier, no later than 2008. Licensing touch from Apple, they might have beaten up Android & RiM’s Blackberry, and secured a spot in enterprise mobile. But they didn’t, because CEO Steve Ballmer was an uncomprehending ass, and because he and the rest of their leadership had Windows on the brain. And still do. Hopefully new CEO Satya Nadella snaps them out of it, before it’s too late to stop Google from laying waste to the planet; Apple alone can’t stop them.

    2. Yes, Samsung has now saturated the market with garbage phones. There’s no growth left for them. Now as people ditch those garbage phones and buy iPhones Apple will continue to grow, while Samsung shrinks. Mark my words.

      1. Re garbage: has anyone seen a comprehensive (‘cradle to grave’) environmental impact analysis of Apple iPhones v Samsung phones? Apple is passionate about being green. The iPhone likely has a longer useful product life. And Apple does not focus on volume. So it seems the “green” advantage for iPhone could be huge.

  2. No wonder Apple’s share price is unstable. The profit figure needs to be over 90% and possibly closer to 95%. C’mon, Tim, stop slacking and do something constructive. Google is gaining on you, dude.

Reader Feedback

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.