Global smartphone profits in the first quarter of the year were $12.5 billion, and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) took 57 percent, according to the latest figures from the research firm Strategy Analytics. That amounts to more than $7 billion in smartphone profits for Apple just in the first quarter.
Android Dominates In Sales, But Apple Wins In Profits
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s big win in profits actually came with lower sales numbers when compared to Android phones. The data shows that Android took 43 percent of the smartphone profits, or $5.3 billion, from the first quarter, although it snagged almost 75 percent of all sales during the quarter, according to data from Gartner.
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930) is believed to have had 31 percent of all smartphone sales in the first quarter, although it doesn’t release exact information. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), on the other hand, had a mere 18 percent in smartphone sales during the quarter.
Breaking Down Android Sales
Of course the Android operating system runs across numerous brands, which may make it difficult to determine precisely how big of a sales chunk each brand gets from the overall Android numbers. The numbers do indicate however, that Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930)’s $5.1 billion operating profit ends up being about 95 percent of revenue that went to Android phones, according to TechCrunch. It also works out to about 40.8 percent of all smartphone operating profits.
Bad News For Other Smartphone Makers
Unfortunately the domination of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Samsung means bad news for other companies like Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) and Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V), which are forced to fight over the leftover crumbs. Together, the two companies saw total profits of just $300,000 for the first quarter, which ends up being a little over 2 percent of the total smartphone profits from the quarter.
