Most public measurements of smartphone sales data focus on unit sales. In every quarter in memory, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL | AAPL Price Prediction) and Samsung have changed places as the global market leaders. When revenue is the primary yardstick, Apple has an unassailable lead. This means its profit per unit is almost certainly much higher than any smartphone brand in the world.
New data from Counterpoint shows that Apple has 43% of the smartphone revenue when the research focused on the five top-selling brands. It also has an average sale price of $879, which is nearly double that of the next brand in the industry.
One impressive aspect of Apple’s lead is that it has been approximately the same across the past four quarters. That lead comes almost exclusively due to iPhone 16 sales.
Counterpoint’s Research Director Jeff Fieldhack said, “Apple strengthened its lead in revenues driven by strong performance of the 16 series across geographies, benefitting from the broader premiumization trend.” Apple benefited from a surge in U.S. purchases because of worry that tariffs would increase prices on the iPhone 16, probably at the start of the fourth quarter.
Samsung ranks second in global revenue at about 15%. The three major Chinese manufacturers (Oppo, Vivo, and Huawei) have a global revenue share of 7%. While each of these Chinese brands sells well, the great majority of their sales come in their home country. Their unit sales are high because the Chinese market has about a billion smartphone units. That is about three times the U.S. number.
It is difficult to determine how profitable the Chinese brands are. Some of the companies disclose revenue, but margins are harder to gauge.
Apple, on the other hand, has a gross margin of 45%, which is very high by industry standards.
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