This may sound unbelievable but it is very true. Of the total profits earned by mobile companies in the fourth quarter of 2011, nearly 95 percent was grabbed by Apple and Samsung. In fact, Apple grabbed nearly 80 percent off all profits, leaving Samsung with a tiny 15 percent in comparison. The traditional technology giants, Nokia, RIM and Motorola are quite squeezed in their profits and from the looks of it, are barely surviving the fight put on an all new level by Apple and Samsung.
The thing about Apple’s products is that Apple tends to keep a handsome margin for itself. It may sell lesser smartphone devices, less laptops than others but it ends up earning much more. This stands very true in the case of Apple against Samsung. Samsung sold an estimated 35 million smartphone devices last quarter and received a puny 15 percent of overall profits. Apple, in comparison, sold about 37 million smartphone devices, just 2 million more than Samsung, and yet Apple ended up with 80% of overall profits!
HTC, which make quite a banging debut into the smartphone world and rode on high waters for some time is low on it’s profits as the competition from Apple and Samsung grows stronger. It was able to grab a mere 3 percent of the overall profits. Things were even worse at Nokia and Motorola, two traditional giants of mobile phone world. Both grabbed just 2 percent of the total mobile phone profits. Sony Ericsson, once a mobile phone giant, ended up with a 2 percent loss last quarter.
The statistics clearly show that the mobile phone world is increasingly becoming polarized between Apple and Samsung. And it is becoming increasingly difficult for other companies to survive this fierce competition.
Image courtesy Yutaka.
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