Apple's Share of Mobile Phone Profits Rises to 93% on iPhone 6 Launch - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Apple's Share of Mobile Phone Profits Rises to 93% on iPhone 6 Launch

by

The latest numbers from Canaccord Genuity reveal that Apple accounted for 93% of mobile profits during the fourth quarter, leading the financial services company to raise its price target on Apple shares from $135 to $145. The firm also predicted that iPhone adoption could grow to 650 million users through 2018 as more smartphone owners upgrade to the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

Canaccord Mobile Profits
Barron's shares Canaccord Genuity analyst Mike Walkley's note to investors:

We believe the strong iPhone 6 replacement sales should continue during C’15, as we estimate only 15% of the current estimated 404M iPhone installed base has upgraded to the new devices. We also anticipate continued strong share gains for the larger screen iPhones from high-tier Android smartphones during C’15 driving strong growth in the iPhone installed base and model the iPhone installed base growing to 487M subscribers exiting C’15 up 20% Y/Y.

Apple and Samsung combined to capture all profits in the mobile industry during the fourth quarter, as competitors including Microsoft, BlackBerry, HTC, Sony, LG and Lenovo either broke even or faced a loss in value share during the three-month period. Apple captured 79% of mobile profits for the entirety of 2014, with a margin of 37% on operating income of $44.6 billion.

Tag: AAPL

Top Rated Comments

149 months ago
I find it amazing to see that with all the competition (even to the point of selling at a loss), apple is still able to maintain those kinds of margins. It speaks (at least to me) how well Apple does at all levels (hardware, OS, Apps, Marketing). Really impressive.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Crosscreek Avatar
149 months ago
I think Apple should add a 4" iPhone 6- to make up for that other 7%.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Michael Goff Avatar
149 months ago
Marketing won't save Microsoft. They were very unprepared for the post pc, mobile era. They have no mojo, no momentum and no foothold. It's iOS or Android. MS doesn't get a halo effect from its pc business and there is no compelling reason for mobile users to leave iOS or Android.

Can we drop this post PC nonsense?
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
149 months ago
This post is poorly written. You're talking about financials, and then predicted adoption rates in the same copy. "Apple and Samsung combined to capture all profits in the mobile industry during the fourth quarter..." WTH does this even mean? They joined forces? Basically copying the linked to article and barely changing it into your own words doesn't constitute as journalism. You took the whole context of the original article and skewed it, and not in an understable way. Next time just link to the original article and save us the headache, NOT your own article on MR. That's just redundant.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
149 months ago
Microsoft seems to be going with the Xbox strategy of taking heavy losses in order to gain a foothold in the market. Problem is it doesn't look like Apple is going to give away their position like Sony did with video games.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
149 months ago
What is that, Apple makes 13X more profit than all its mobile competitors combined?

Granted I suck at math but the competitors are sucking at business at least compared to Apple.

It is easy to see that samedung and M$ commercials making fun of apple customers really paid for them.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Stocks App Icon and Apple Logo Feature

Apple Passed Nvidia to Become World's Most Valuable Company Again

Friday July 17, 2026 12:43 pm PDT by
Apple momentarily became the world's most valuable publicly traded company again today after its market valuation surpassed that of Nvidia, according to CNBC. However, the two companies have since traded places during today's session. Apple's stock has increased by around 20% since it closed at $275.15 on June 25, pushing the company's valuation to nearly $5...
iPhone 18 Pro Deep Red Feature

iPhone 18 Pro Launching in Two Months With These 12 New Features

Friday July 17, 2026 10:39 am PDT by
It is now mid-July, and that means the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are now just two months away. The devices are expected to look similar to the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, but there will still be many year-over-year changes, with rumored features including a smaller Dynamic Island, 5G via satellite, and more. Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, ...
Apple AppleCare One Feature

'AppleCare One' is Now Even More Valuable

Saturday July 18, 2026 6:25 am PDT by
While the monthly and annual prices of AppleCare+ plans for Macs and iPads received a slight increase this week, AppleCare One continues to start at $19.99 per month in the U.S., making the multi-device plan even more valuable. Launched in July 2025, AppleCare One allows you to cover up to three devices as part of a single subscription for $19.99 per month, and additional devices can be...