Apple Tops the Global Smartphone Market Profit List, but it’s Not What You May Think

Samsung only managed to secure a meagre 13% of the global smartphone market's total operating profit, while Apple managed to scoop up 83.4% in Q1 2017! In spite of Samsung outselling Apple globally by millions of handsets in the quarter, they only managed to show an operating profit of $1.57 billion, while Apple posted a figure of $10.1 billion for the same. Samsung experienced a 21.9% decline while Apple saw a 79.8% increase in their respective operating profits.

If you are wondering how it's possible, well, the answer is quite simple really; higher profit margins. Apple enjoys insane profit margins in the range of 30.7%; something that can only be pulled off by Apple because of its brand name. No other company, including Samsung can afford to sell their smartphones with a profit margin that high because no one would buy them. Apple on the other hand knows that people will continue to buy them, irrespective of the price. Samsung is having trouble holding onto even a 9.7% average profit margin due to steep competition from Chinese manufacturers in the low-mid end segment.

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)