“Apple and Samsung accounted for 95 percent of the industry’s profits in the fourth quarter — with Apple generating 80 percent [of that] by itself — as the rest of the players struggle for the scraps,” Roger Cheng reports for CNET. “Canaccord Genuity analyst Mike Walkley said yesterday that their percentage could rise even higher in the first quarter.”
“Besides Apple and Samsung, no other major handset manufacturer recorded a significant profit,” Cheng reports. “Some actually posted losses for the period. And ultimately, it was really Apple that accounted for most of the profits, with its unique level of success.”
Cheng reports, “Walkley said the iPhone outsold every other smartphone in AT&T and Sprint Nextel’s lineups combined, and it was on par with every other Android smartphone combined sold by Verizon Wireless. The iPhone’s superior ability to turn a profit is illustrated by Apple’s market share. Despite only nabbing 45 percent of total handset sales* in the fourth quarter, it controlled 80 percent of the profits.”
MacDailyNews Note: He must mean “45 percent of total smartphone sales.”
“Samsung is a distant second, but it can still boast of healthy profit,” Cheng reports. “Despite its claims of a premium phone, Samsung doesn’t command the kind of premium that Apple can get away with. The company instead leans on its own manufacturing capabilities and massive reach to ensure a profit.”
Cheng reports, “If things don’t change, a few of the companies won’t be around in a few years. These are businesses that are in it to make money, and if profits can’t be had, the industry will see either consolidation or companies waving a white flag.”
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Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: The effort CNET and Cheng make to inflate Samsung to Apple’s level is ludicrous. We’ve cut and chopped and added to make it read somewhat closer to actual reality. To see it in all of it’s “glory,” read the entire article, headlined “Why Apple, Samsung’s phones sit atop piles of cash.” It’s laughable.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Carl H.” for the heads up.]
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