Worldwide, smartphone profits reached $9.4 billion during the third quarter of the year, according to fresh findings from Strategy Analytics.
Remarkably, Apple captured a record 91% share of those profits, or about $8.6 billion.
“Apple’s ability to maximize pricing and minimize production cost is hugely impressive and the iPhone continues to generate monster profits,” Linda Sui, director at Strategy Analytics, notes in a new report.
Meanwhile, “Huawei, Vivo and OPPO are the next three most profitable smartphone vendors globally this quarter, but they are still a long way behind Apple,” according to Sui.
During the third quarter, Huawei generated $0.2 billion of global smartphone operating profit worldwide, which made the Chinese company the world’s most profitable Android vendor for the first time ever.
Neil Mawston, executive director at Strategy Analytics, credits “an efficient supply chain, sleek products and effective marketing” for driving Huawei’s profitability.
For their part, Vivo and OPPO each took about 2% global profit share thanks to disciplined pricing and soaring shipments across Asia, according to Mawston.
While Apple continues to dominate the field, the rise of its Chinese rivals is impressive, Sui added. “Huawei, Vivo and OPPO have not only improved their smartphone product lineups this year, they have also enhanced their operational abilities and kept a tight lid on expanding distribution costs.”