Samsung’s Q2 profits miss expectations, raise concerns that smartphone business has peaked
We’ve been hearing chatter about less than stellar Galaxy S4 sales for some time now, and now word of quarterly profits that missed expectations are raising more concerns about Samsung. Some are concluding that the Korean company’s smartphone business has peaked after bringing in $8.3 billion in operating profit during the second quarter of 2013. ONLY $8.3 BILLION.
Samsung typically meets or exceeds industry forecasts, so a rare miss has sent stock down a further 3 percent. In all, the price of Samsung stock has dropped 17 percent since the beginning of June. Analysts believe that Samsung needs to diversify to reverse their fortunes amid concerns that mobile, which hauls in about 70 percent of the company’s total profit, won’t be quite the same commodity moving forward.
Of course, it’s not all doom and gloom.The $8.3 billion is still 47 percent more than what the company earned in the same quarter last year. It’s a record-setting number. Forecasts for the second half of the year are trending upward and could lead to some of the biggest quarters in Samsung’s history. So, no, Samsung is not the next HTC. Let’s not all freak out at once now.
[via Reuters]