Strategy Analytics is well-known for their data sets and related findings which shed light on the Android and wider smartphone markets and today, the company has released its latest findings. These are based on the dispersion of global smartphone operating profits and does note that in Q3 of 2016, the smartphone industry as a whole saw operating profits in the region of $9.4 billion. However, the big takeaway from the results is that Huawei seems to have been accredited as “the world’s most profitable Android vendor” for Q3 of 2016. A first for Huawei.
Now, this is only in relation to Android, as when taken in context of the wider smartphone market, the breakdown of findings from Strategy Analytics highlight that Apple realized operating profits in Q3 to the tune of $8.5 billion. An amount which equated to a substantial 91-percent operating profit share. The other 9-percent though is what proves interesting from the Android perspective as Huawei tops the charts with a 2.4-percent (of the 9-percent) operating profit share. Which in real terms comes in as $0.2 billion. Interestingly, this is the exact same figure that came in for Vivo, OPPO and the ominous ‘Others’, which made up the third, fourth and first position, respectively. With second to fifth all seeing operating profits of $0.2 billion, the assumption is that the difference between them was mighty close. However, the separation was enough for Huawei to record the higher 2.4-percent operating profit with Vivo, OPPO and Others all securing a 2.2-percent operating profit share each.
So while Strategy Analytics does credit Huawei with becoming ‘the most profitable Android vendor’ for the quarter, it does show that the battle is heating up as OPPO and Vivo are both vying for contention, in terms of operating profits within Android. Not to mention, it does highlight the rise of Chinese manufacturers overall, with three of the top four all being Chinese companies. In explaining the latest findings, Strategy Analytics does point out that some of the reasons that have helped Huawei secure their place is their “effective marketing”, along with an “efficient supply chain” and “sleek products”. Interestingly, when it came to Vivo and OPPO, Strategy Analytics note that it was their pricing and increased shipment numbers in Asia which led to their respective “healthy profitability”. You can see a visual breakdown of the results from the Strategy Analytics Q3 2016 findings below.
