Apple and Samsung take 103% of 2012 Cellphone profits
Yes, you read that right. 103% of 2012’s cellphone profits, and 101% in Q4. When we break it down, to answer “how is more than 100% even possible?” it goes like this. Apple claimed 69%, while Samsung took 34%. A total greater than 100 is possible because of operating losses at companies like Blackberry, Motorola, and Nokia.
Canaccord analyst Michael Walkley wrote,
“We believe Apple’s value share of the handset market is even higher than our estimates…considering Apple’s dominant market share of the tablet market, as some Android OEMs such as Samsung and HTC include tablet sales in reported smartphone sales and profits,”
“Given the current competitive dynamics, we believe Apple and Samsung will maintain dominant value share during Q1/13 with share gains for Samsung versus Apple expected in Q1/13.”
Needless to say, Samsung is Apple’s biggest competitor (thanks to phones like the Galaxy S III, Galaxy Nexus, and Galaxy Note II). To realiate, Apple has filed multiple patent cases as a strategic weapon against Samsung and Google’s Android platform, on which most Samsung phone are based.