Samsung, Apple and Nokia all recently released financial figures for Q4 2012, and there is plenty to think about regarding the future of those three perennial titans in the smartphone marketplace. Yes, Apple does sell more than iPhones, Samsung is a worldwide conglomerate that produces everything from kitchen appliances to semiconductors, and Nokia calls itself a multinational “communications and information technology company”, but its main focus is mobile handsets. Those three companies presented their 2012 year ending financials within a 24-hour period of each other, and we were eager to take a look at the results.
Though they do sell things other than smartphones, the recent announcement accompanying the release of their year-end financials displayed just how important smartphones were to Samsung’s profits. Openly crediting the Galaxy Note, Galaxy Note II and global bestseller Galaxy S III smartphones as reasons for their success in Q3 and Q4 last year, Samsung claimed an impressive 87% profit increase over the same time-frame in 2011.
And market goliath Apple delivered equally as impressive numbers, with its single quarter results from the final quarter of 2012 offering numbers that most smartphone manufacturers would be happy to have for an entire year. Apple reported profits of $13 billion in the 13 week period, and a profit of $1 billion per week for any company in virtually any industry bodes well for that company’s future. The Cupertino-based consumer electronics manufacturer sold 48 million iPhones (comparing favorably to the 40 million Galaxy S III handsets sold the same time period) in Q4, and the profit margin for an iPhone is higher than for a Samsung Galaxy S III.
Samsung and Apple both warned that market saturation and increasing competition would bring down their growth numbers in the future, but certainly not their overall dominance in the marketplace. Nokia was as early as 2010 the far and away leader in smartphone manufacturing and sales. And they understand how incredibly fast the landscape can change in the smartphone marketplace, but the end of last year saw a much-needed uptick for the Finnish company. After what could only be described as a terrible start to the year in 2012, Nokia finished on a strong up-tick, with their sales up 26% in the last quarter over the same time-frame in 2011.
The Nokia flagship Lumia lineup brought in sales of 4.4 million, proving that there is room and support for a non-Android, non-IOS-based product in the smartphone marketplace. The Lumia Windows-based phones have done surprisingly well, but the profit margin on each Lumia handset pales in comparison to that of the Apple iPhone. Samsung is making their profits on sheer numbers, and BlackBerry (formerly RIM) could enter the conversation of top smartphone manufacturer with the release of their BlackBerry 10 operating system and smartphone next month. And the Mobile World Congress the last week of February in Barcelona, Spain could also throw a monkey wrench into the best laid plans of Samsung, Nokia and Apple to continue their positive sales growth.
