Today the Wall Street Journal reported that HTC’s most recent quarterly profits are down 79% from last year. The company reported a third-quarter net profic of $133 million. Though the company still made money, its quarter 3 2012 reports its lowest profits since 2006.
The reason for HTC’s shrinking profits probably has something to do with Apple’s continued success in the smartphone market, as well as Samsung’s rise as the top Android handset manufacturer.
Apple’s recent release of the iPhone 5 propelled the company’s stock to new heights and cemented the post-Steve-Jobs company as the dominant player in the smartphone market (though the Apple Maps debacle has dampened investors enthusiasm somewhat). Couple that with the fact that some Android smartphone users actually wish they had an iPhone, and Apple is still growing its share of the smartphone market.
On the Android side of things, Samsung has begun to consolidate and overshadow all other Android handset OEMs. The latest ComScore figures put the company’s smartphones in the hands of around one-quarter of smartphone users. Samsung’s dominance can be seen in its growing quarterly profits, which reached $7.29 billion this quarter.
The story can be seen in how both Samsung’s and HTC’s flagship Android smartphone fared in the U.S. market. Though the Samsung Galaxy S III had a messy release schedule, it was eventually released on all major U.S. carriers and sold well – 20 million units well, according to Samsung.
The HTC One X, on the other hand was held up by an Apple lawsuit and then only released on two carriers. It was re-branded and re-skinned for Sprint as an EVO smartphone. Though comparable to the Galaxy S III in terms of hardware, the One X was left behind by limited availability and a strong Samsung marketing campaign.