Apple and Samsung, it seems, are all that matters in the handset business today.
At least, that’s the obvious conclusion one could easily reach when looking at the latest industry data from Canaccord Genuity.
One of the firm’s top analysts, Michael Walkley, says Apple and Samsung now control 106% of handset profits, a feat made possible in response to the overwhelming popularity of two smartphones – Apple’s iPhone 5s and Samsung’s Galaxy S5.
Between January and March of 2014, Apple earned 65 percent of profits from the smartphone industry. Samsung’s share was 41 percent.
Last quarter, Nokia, BlackBerry, and Motorola saw the biggest losses, while growth for LG, HTC, and Sony was flat.
“Given the current competitive dynamics, we believe Apple and Samsung will maintain dominant value share during 2014,” projects Walkley. “With BlackBerry struggling and Microsoft purchasing dominant Windows Phone OEM Nokia, we believe Chinese OEMs with strong Android portfolios will likely emerge as stronger long-term competitors to Apple and Samsung.”
