Apple Nabbed 103.6% of Smartphone Industry Profit in Q3

In a recent research note, BMO Capital Markets analyst Tim Long has estimated that Apple accounted for 103.6% of smartphone industry operating profits in the third quarter (via Investor’s Business Daily). The iPhone maker’s share is over 100% because other vendors lost money in the business, resulting in Apple having more smartphone profit than the industry netted overall, the analyst explained.

In the year-earlier period, Apple grabbed 90% of smartphone profits, while this year, the Cupertino giant captured over 100% of smartphone industry profits for the first time, thanks in part to Samsung’s weaker results, Long said.

Long predicts that smartphone unit shipments will grow at a compound annual rate of 2.6% from 2015 to 2019. “Emerging markets will dominate smartphone growth, at 4%, while developed markets will decline less than 1%,” Long said.

While Apple was No. 1 by a mile in Q3 smartphone operating profits, Samsung was No. 2 with a tiny 0.9% share. The South Korean company had 21.7% of the smartphone market based on units sold in Q3, followed by Apple (13.2%) and Huawei (9.7%), according to BMO. 

BMO’s research also revealed that global smartphone shipments rose 2.1% year over year to 346 million units in Q3.