We all love some good earnings figures so that we can compare our favourite smartphone companies, right? Today, HTC and Samsung both gave earnings reports that look good on paper, but might actually signal something foreboding for both Android smartphone giants.
HTC announced that its Q2 profits managed to hit $41.63 million, finally seeing an increase in profits after a less-than-rosy launch of the HTC One. While the figures for this quarter are good for the Taiwanese manufacturer, it’s believed that HTC won’t be able to maintain this level of earning in Q3 as new products from Apple and Chinese manufacturers flood the market, and that’s even with new products being released by HTC.
Samsung, being the giant that it is, recorded a $8.3 billion earning estimate, no doubt driven in large part by the immense success of the Galaxy S4, which has coincidently just sold 20 million handsets in the 2 months since its launch. However, although the profit forecast is yet another record, Samsung shares dropped 3 percent, which caps a 17 percent loss since June, clearly feeling the effects of other Android smartphone manufacturers catching up and eating part of its market share. Investors are even beginning to fear that Samsung is looking a lot like Apple unless it can manage to maintain its innovative edge.
Good news, it seems, in the short term for both HTC and Samsung, but trouble ahead as the smartphone market is beginning to look like a war more than ever. Anybody surprised by these profit figures? Anybody think Samsung will fall into the same trap as Apple? Let us know what you think in the comments.
Source: Reuters (1), (2) via engadget (1), (2)
