iPhone leads Apple past Nokia to #1 in mobile phone profits
Apple doesn't make the most mobile phones but, as of the third quarter of 2009, the Cupertino company does make the most money from them. Research firm Strategy Analytics says Apple is now the world's most profitable mobile phone maker, kicking Nokia from the top spot between July and September.
Apple's phones only command about 2.5% of the world's cellphone market, though the iPhone's cool factor and the company's premium pricing let it rake in about $1.6 billion in operating profit from the iPhone in the third quarter of 2009, besting cellphone stalwart Nokia and its $1.1 billion in operating profit for the same period.
Alex Spektor, an analyst with Strategy Analytics, says, "With strong volumes, high wholesale prices and tight cost controls, the PC vendor has successfully broken into the mobile phone market in just two years."
What did Nokia do wrong? Reverse what Apple did right. Nokia seems to have slipped thanks in part to lower margins from the weak economy and a less-than-stellar presence in the United States, though Spektor thinks there is time to turn the Finnish ship around. He suggests the company focus more on the U.S. and less on traditional 'non-smart' phones, which don't make as much money per unit as the likes of the iPhone or the Blackberry.
While Nokia may not make the most money, at this point it still makes the most handsets. Nokia's worldwide market share for mobile phones sits at 37.9%. At least for now.
[via The Mac Observer, Electronista]
