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RIM and Apple hold 3% of the wireless market, 35% of profits

Updated Dec 19th, 2018 6:23PM EST
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Deutsche Bank analyst Brian Modoff fed some figures to the Wall Street Journal this morning and to say they speak volumes for the effectiveness of both RIM and Apple’s strategies is a gross understatement. Two companies, 3 percent of the global cell phone market, 35 percent of the operating profits. Sheesh. It’s no mystery that both companies have hit the industry hard of late but if this statistic doesn’t speak volumes for the success both have been experiencing, we don’t know what does. While Apple’s next handset release is about a year away, the company continues to bring its iPhone 3GS to new markets where it has yet to receive anything but an enthusiastic welcome. RIM on the other hand, has several highly anticipated devices still to come this year including the Storm 2, Bold 9020 (Onyx) and the Magnum. In a nut shell, both companies are well positioned to push that number up toward the 40 percent mark and possibly beyond before the year is out.

Beyond the dynamic duo that is RIM and Apple, Nokia is the only other player represented on the chart above showing a profit share that outreaches its market share and it still owns the lion’s share of each. As we reaffirmed last week however, all is not peachy up in Finland these days. And then we find Samsung and LG, two companies that combine to make up over 30 percent of the global cell phone market but only about 20 percent of the profits. Last and unfortunately least, there’s Motorola. Ouch, Moto.

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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.