Apple Blows Away Rival Smartphone Vendors In Operating Profit, Revenue: Report

Apple, Inc. AAPL took the third spot in terms of global smartphone shipments in the second quarter of 2021, behind Samsung and Xiaomi.

Yet the pricier iPhone has helped Cupertino tower over the rest when operating profit from smartphone shipments is taken into consideration, according to a new report.

What Happened: Apple took 75% of the overall smartphone market's operating profit in the second quarter and 40% of the revenues, Counterpoint said in a report. This is despite Apple accounting for only 13% of global smartphone shipments.

The second-quarter performance, however, pales before the numbers of the fourth quarter of 2020 following the release of the 5G-enabled iPhone 12 models. For the quarter, Apple's operating profit share was 86% and revenue share was 50%.

Samsung was second and Chinese vendor Xiaomi, however, did not fare well on these metrics despite being the second biggest vendor in terms of shipments.

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Mix Shift Favors Apple: That Apple leads the industry by a wide margin in terms of operating profits and revenues is no surprise. The iPhones are pricier products and the product mix has been shifting toward higher-end models of late.

In the second quarter, iPhone 12 Pro Max and iPhone 11 had the largest share at 23% each, according to data from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners. The iPhone 12 mini and iPhone XR had the smallest share at 5% each.

The weighted average retail price of the iPhone in the U.S. was at $869 in the June quarter, up from under $800 in the year-ago quarter.

The momentum Apple is seeing is likely to continue.

"Despite the relatively unchanged like-for-like iPhone pricing compared to the iPhone 12, the introduction of higher end iPhone storage SKUs is likely to drive year-over-year Phone ASP growth," Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty said in a recent note.

AAPL Price Action: Apple shares gained 2.02% Thursday, closing at $143.76. 

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