Samsung Misses Earnings Estimates as Apple and Others Pressure Mobile Sales
Samsung's corporate earnings missed expectations and its mobile division saw flat growth year-over-year due to pressure from inexpensive rivals and Apple's new lineup of iPhones, according to an analysis of its fourth-quarter earnings by Bloomberg.
The Korean conglomerate reported net income of 7.22 trillion won ($6.7 billion), well short of the 8.2 trillion won that analysts were expecting. Operating income at the company's mobile unit, its biggest profit maker, was 5.47 trillion won, down from a record 6.7 trillion in the prior quarter, and roughly flat year-over-year.
The company also said it planned to cut its mobile marketing budget after heavy spending also impacted its fourth-quarter profits, reported Reuters. It will also look to make its marketing spending more efficient.
Analysts interviewed by Bloomberg blamed growth in Apple's iPhone line, which saw the iPhone 5s and 5c launch early in the quarter. Apple is scheduled to announce its earnings on Monday.
Samsung Galaxy S4 (5-inch display) with Apple iPhone 5 (4-inch display)
"Samsung’s two major challenges for 2014 are to maintain its mobile-phone leadership in China and the U.S., while simultaneously growing its tablet business quickly enough to knock Apple iPad from its perch," [Neil Mawston, an executive director at researcher Strategy Analytics,] said.
The company shipped 9 million units of the S4 in the fourth quarter, according to a Jan. 8 report from Daewoo Securities Co., lower than its earlier estimate of 13 million units, released on Dec. 23. In the third quarter, Samsung sold 17 million units, Daewoo said.
Apple is rumored to have sold more than fifty million iPhones in the fourth calendar quarter. Apple is not expected to update its iPhone line until next fall.
Samsung announced that it would launch a new version of its flagship Galaxy smartphone by April, alongside the second version of its Gear smart watch.
(Image courtesy Business Insider)
Popular Stories
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps.
Unfortunately, this feature continues to roll out very slowly since it was announced in 2021, with only nine U.S. states, Puerto Rico,...
Apple will launch its new iPhone 17 series in two months, and the iPhone 17 Pro models are expected to get a new design for the rear casing and the camera area. But more significant changes to the lineup are not expected until next year, when the iPhone 18 models arrive.
If you're thinking of trading in your iPhone for this year's latest, consider the following features rumored to be coming...
Since the iPhone X in 2017, all of Apple's highest-end iPhone models have featured either stainless steel or titanium frames, but it has now been rumored that this design decision will be coming to an end with the iPhone 17 Pro models later this year.
In a post on Chinese social media platform Weibo today, the account Instant Digital said that the iPhone 17 Pro models will have an aluminum...
Three out of four iPhone 17 models will feature more RAM than the equivalent iPhone 16 models, according to a new leak that aligns with previous rumors.
The all-new iPhone 17 Air, the iPhone 17 Pro, and the iPhone 17 Pro Max will each be equipped with 12GB of RAM, according to Fixed Focus Digital, an account with more than two million followers on Chinese social media platform Weibo. The...
Apple is expanding the ability to add an Apple Account Card to the Wallet app to more countries, according to backend Apple Pay changes.
With iOS 15.5, Apple updated the Wallet app to allow users to add an Apple Account Card, which displays the Apple credit balance associated with an Apple ID.
If you receive an Apple gift card, for example, it is added to an Apple Account that is also...
Apple does not plan to refresh any Macs with updated M5 chips in 2025, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Updated MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models are now planned for the first half of 2026.
Gurman previously said that Apple would debut the M5 MacBook Pro models in late 2025, but his newest report suggests that Apple is "considering" pushing them back to 2026. Apple is now said to be...
Apple is continuing to refine and update iOS 26, and beta three features smaller changes than we saw in beta 2, plus further tweaks to the Liquid Glass design. Apple is gearing up for the next phase of beta testing, and the company has promised that a public beta is set to come out in July.
Transparency
In some apps like Apple Music, Podcasts, and the App Store, Apple has toned down the...
If you pay for iCloud storage on your iPhone, did you know that Apple offers you five perks beyond the extra storage space, at no additional cost?
Here are the perks included with all iCloud+ plans:Private Relay keeps your Safari browsing history entirely private from network providers, websites, and even Apple.
Hide My Email generates unique, random email addresses whenever needed.
Hom...
