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Apple and Samsung to pull in 90% of smartphone profits in 2012, UBS says

Updated Dec 19th, 2018 7:45PM EST
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Industry watchers agree that smartphone sales will continue to balloon in 2012, but much of the projected growth will seemingly be enjoyed by just two companies. In a report to clients earlier this week, UBS analyst Maynard Um lowered his full-year unit sales projections for cell phones to 1.69 billion from his earlier estimate of 1.7 billion units. At the same time, however, he raised his industry revenue estimates to $242.8 billion from $238.8 billion thanks in large part to a huge year projected for both Apple and Samsung. Read on for more.

Um believes Apple and Samsung will combine to account for more than half of smartphone industry revenues in 2012. Each firm recently reported a moster holiday quarter — Samsung managed a company record in the fourth calendar quarter of 2011 while Apple posted the most profitable quarter in history among technology companies — and momentum is not expected to slow.

More telling than Um’s revenue predictions, however, are his profit estimates. The analyst believes Samsung and Apple will combine to record 90% of the smartphone industry’s pre-tax profits in 2012.

“Smartphones continue to grow strongly, now accounting for over 30% of total volumes and over 75% of total industry revenues,” the analyst wrote. “However, the performance disparity between the stronger players – Apple and Samsung – vs. the others remains stark and these two now account for over 55% of industry revenues and over 90% of total EBIT.”

Samsung has a number of exciting launches planned for the first half including a new Galaxy tablet with a high-resolution display and the quad-core Galaxy S III, Samsung’s sequel to the smartphone that drove much of its mobile profit in 2011. Apple is then expected to launch its next-generation iPhone over the summer or this coming fall.

Zach Epstein
Zach Epstein Executive Editor

Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 10 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.

His work has been quoted by countless top news organizations, and he was recently named one of the world's top 10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes. Prior to BGR, Zach worked as an executive in marketing and business development with two private telcos.