Samsung Dethrones Apple in Smartphone Profits
Samsung Dethrones Apple in Smartphone Profits
Apple has fallen off the profit throne.Last quarter, Samsung Electronics made more money selling handsets than Apple for the first time, according to a report by Strategy Analytics.
Samsung’s operating profit for handsets was an estimated $5.2 billion in the second quarter of 2013, according to the report. Apple, meanwhile, had an estimated operating profit of $4.6 billion.
Apple also lost global market share while Samsung made gains. Apple’s share fell to 13.6% from 16.6%, the lowest it has been in three years. Samsung, meanwhile notched a 33.1% global market share, up from 31.1% last year, according to the report. Other research outfits have different tallies for market share. IDC, for example, said Samsung’s market share actually slipped to 30.4% from 32.2% a year earlier, though it still topped Apple’s.
Overall, the numbers highlight the challenges Apple faces from a more competitive handset market in which much of the growth is at the lower end.
Apple’s smartphone shipments grew just 20% in the second quarter, well below the industry average of 47%, according to Strategy Analytics. Samsung shipped a record 76 million smartphones, more than double Apple’s 31.2 million. Samsung was boosted by sales in China of its Galaxy S4 model, the report said. Apple has said it plans to make the iPhone 4 “more attractive” in China, where the company recently saw sales slow.
Apple declined to comment. Samsung didn’t immediately return request for comment.
LG Electronics, meanwhile, made strides. It captured 5.8% market share and was the third largest smartphone vendor for the second consecutive quarter. The Optimus and Nexus devices helped fuel the success, according to the report.
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