Apple's Share of Cellphone Industry Profit Estimated at 32% for First Half of 2009
All Things Digital reports on research from analyst Toni Sacconaghi of Bernstein Research that shows Apple holding 32% of the cellphone handset industry's operating profits for the first half of 2009. Apple's profit share is driven by high average selling prices and high margins on the iPhone, which accounts for only 8% of industry revenue and under 2% of industry unit sales.
"Our analysis indicates that Apple's iPhone accounted for only 8% of handset industry revenues but 32% of industry operating profits in 1H09," Sacconaghi wrote in a note to clients today. "Even if we exclude the operating losses generated by Motorola and Sony Ericsson, Apple still accounted for 25% of industry profits. iPhone's success is akin to Apples position in the PC industrywhere the company enjoys an estimated 25% of industry profits, despite capturing only 6% of industry revenues."
The study follows on the heels of earlier estimates for all of 2008 from Deutsche Bank analyst Brian Modoff showing that Apple claimed 20% of the handset industry's profits. That earlier study had also estimated that Apple and Research in Motion's combined share of industry revenue would rise to 58% in 2009 from 35% in 2008, numbers which bear close resemblance to the first-half 2009 data released by Sacconaghi estimating the combined companies' share of profits at 54% (Apple 32%, Research in Motion 22%).
Popular Stories
Apple is planning to launch new MacBook Pro models as soon as early March, but if you can, this is one generation you should skip because there's something much better in the works.
We're waiting on 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, with few changes other than the processor upgrade. There won't be any tweaks to the design or the display, but later this...
Wednesday February 11, 2026 10:07 am PST by
Juli CloverApple today released iOS 26.3 and iPadOS 26.3, the latest updates to the iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 operating systems that came out in September. The new software comes almost two months after Apple released iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2.
The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update.
According to Apple's release notes, ...
It has been a slow start to 2026 for Apple product launches, with only a new AirTag and a special Apple Watch band released so far. We are still waiting for MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, the iPhone 17e, a lower-cost MacBook with an iPhone chip, long-rumored updates to the Apple TV and HomePod mini, and much more.
Apple is expected to release/update the following products...
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld.
The report said the iPhone 17e will be announced in a press release on the Apple Newsroom website, so do not expect an event for this device specifically.
The iPhone 17e will be a spec-bumped successor to the iPhone 16e. Rumors claim the device will have four key...
Apple acquired Canadian graph database company Kuzu last year, it has emerged.
The acquisition, spotted by AppleInsider, was completed in October 2025 for an undisclosed sum. The company's website was subsequently taken down and its Github repository was archived, as is commonplace for Apple acquisitions.
Kuzu was "an embedded graph database built for query speed, scalability, and easy of ...
