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Things are looking up for Samsung, thanks to the iPhone 6s

Published Oct 7th, 2015 8:35AM EDT
Samsung Q3 2015 Earnings iPhone 6s
Image: Zach Epstein, BGR

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Samsung’s profits have been shrinking recently but the company says that trend is about to end… and it’s due in no small part to the success of the iPhone 6s. The Wall Street Journal brings us word that Samsung has “estimated its third-quarter operating profit rebounded sharply from a year earlier on robust sales of chips and displays used in mobile phones and other gadgets.” While this rebound in profits is certainly welcome news for Samsung, it must be a little bittersweet given that its reversal of fortune in large part from selling components to Apple and to rival Chinese smartphone manufacturers.

FROM EARLIER: Galaxy S7 might be even faster than the iPhone 6s

Breaking things down a little further, analysts are estimating that the company’s chip unit accounted for roughly half of its total profits over the past quarter. Samsung produced roughly half of the A9 chips found in Apple’s newest iPhones, while the other half was produced by components supplier TSMC. The company has also been making more money selling displays to Chinese smartphone manufacturers that are cranking out dirt-cheap handsets that are helping to erode the margins in Samsung’s handset business.

Even though Samsung doesn’t expect to see its smartphone profits rebound anytime soon, it’s good to see the company making up for those lower profits with stronger component supply profits. Regardless of how you feel about its smartphones, Samsung is one of the best component suppliers in the business, as even Apple would acknowledge.

Brad Reed
Brad Reed Staff Writer

Brad Reed has written about technology for over eight years at BGR.com and Network World. Prior to that, he wrote freelance stories for political publications such as AlterNet and the American Prospect. He has a Master's Degree in Business and Economics Journalism from Boston University.