Apple the most profitable handset vendor?

By Stuart Corner
Thursday, 12 November 2009 00:34

Strategy

Market research firm Strategy Analytics estimates Apple's Q3 2009 iPhone profits at $US1.6 billion putting it ahead of long time global leader Nokia for the first time.

According to Strategy Analytics, Nokia's margins have been hit hard by both the economic downturn and a stagnant presence in the United States. Strategy Analytics analyst, Alex Spektor, said, "We estimate Apple's operating profit for its iPhone handset division stood at $US1.6 billion in the third quarter of 2009. Apple overtook Nokia for the first time, which recorded a lower $US1.1 billion of operating profit."

Neil Mawston, director of the wireless device strategies service at Strategy Analytics, added, "Nokia's profit margin for its handset division has been shrinking during the 2009 global economic downturn. Strategy Analytics believes that the United States, where Nokia now trails Apple in market share, is the key to Nokia's recovery in 2010. A successful fight on Apple's high-profit home turf can simultaneously help to revitalise Nokia's margins and to put a check on Apple's surging growth."

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