Samsung Delivers a Monster Quarter of Its Own

Samsung delivered a net income of $6.4 billion on revenues of $59 billion in the most recent quarter and is again the largest smartphone maker in the world.

“Solid sales of smartphones and consumer electronics outweighed lower earnings from semiconductors and displays,” Samsung writes in its quarterly earnings announcement. “Earnings at the Mobile Communications Business rose significantly as sales of flagship and mass-market smartphones increased and contributions of products in the Device Ecosystem such as tablets, PCs, and wearables grew.”

Indeed, Samsung’s smartphone business saw operating profits surge by 65 percent in the quarter to $400 million, thanks largely to the positive response to the Galaxy S21 family of handsets. The Wall Street Journal points out that this was the first time in nearly five years that the firm’s mobile-unit operating profits topped those of semiconductors. And Reuters notes that this quarter marked the highest first quarter profit delivered by Samsung’s smartphone business since 2014.

Samsung didn’t release smartphone unit sales figures, but the market researchers at Canalys claim that the smartphone giant shipped 76.5 million smartphones to consumers in the quarter, catapulting it back into first place. Apple, which had temporarily seized the crown in the previous quarter, landed at number two, with 52.4 million units sold. Overall, 347 million smartphones were sold in the quarter, Canalys says.