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Apple took home 72% of all handset profits last quarter

By
Philip Elmer-DeWitt
Philip Elmer-DeWitt
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By
Philip Elmer-DeWitt
Philip Elmer-DeWitt
Down Arrow Button Icon
February 6, 2013, 3:36 PM ET

Data: Canaccord Genuity for Q4 2012

FORTUNE — Can you spot the problem with the pie chart at right? If you noticed that the two slices add up to more than 100%, you’re on the right track.

Last quarter, Apple (AAPL) and Samsung so dominated the worldwide market for mobile phones (smart and dumb) that the rest of the manufacturers — including Nokia (NOK), Motorola (GOOG), BlackBerry (BBRY), Sony (SNE), LG and HTC — either broke even or lost money.

That’s just one of the notable findings in a report issued Tuesday by Canaccord Genuity’s T. Michael Walkley. A few other highlights:

  • Apple took home 72% of the profits with only 21.7% of unit sales (up from 15.4% in Q3).
  • Samsung’s 29% of the profits came from 28.9% of unit sales (down from 32.3% in Q3).
  • 43 cents of every dollar spent in the world on a cellphone in Q4 ended up in Apple’s coffers.
  • Samsung got 36 cents. Nokia got 7 cents. All the rest got less than 5.
  • For 2013, Walkley predicts that Apple and Samsung will split 103% of the profits, 69/34.
About the Author
By Philip Elmer-DeWitt
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