Microsoft’s (MSFT) Windows Phone platform continues to struggle but its income from the smartphone industry is booming. How is this possible? Simple: patent royalties. Microsoft has a number of licensing deals in place with vendors that sell millions upon millions of Android smartphones each quarter, and those deals are paying off. According to estimates from analysts at Trefis, Microsoft’s patent royalties from Samsung (005930) and HTC (2498) alone totaled as much as $792 million in the second quarter, more than making up for the difficulties Windows Phone has had gaining traction. Trefis cites earlier reports in noting that HTC pays Microsoft $10 per Android device and Samsung, which sold as many as 52 million smartphones into distribution channels last quarter, reportedly pays between $12 and $13 per device. According to estimates from market research firm Canalys, just 5.1 million Windows Phones were shipped last quarter by all of Microsoft’s partners combined.
Microsoft’s patent pressure pays off: $800M in fees from Samsung, HTC dwarf Q2 Windows Phone sales
Updated Dec 19th, 2018 8:31PM EST
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Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 15 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.
