The Galaxy Note 7 didn’t hurt Samsung’s bottom line at all
The Galaxy Note 7 was easily the biggest Android disaster of 2016, with some analysts predicting the Korean company could see losses of $17 billion surrounding its recovery of the faulty devices and loss of sales for what was a major flagship phone. Samsung themselves seemed grim about its financial future without the Note 7, expecting a $3.1 billion loss.
However, the company revealed financial data today that seems to indicate that the loss of the Galaxy Note 7 and the hit to the company’s reputation hasn’t impacted it too much. The operating profit for the fourth quarter of 2016 was 49.84% higher than the same quarter in 2015. Revenue during that period came in at 53 trillion won (about $44 billion USD), which is down 0.6% from the same period last year.
So what saved the company from massive loss thanks to the Galaxy Note 7? The strong demand for memory chips increased during this period and analysts believe it helped make up for the loss profits from the Note 7. The Galaxy Note 7 is a dead device worldwide, carriers have started issuing the “killswitch” update that turns the phone into a brick as Samsung preps its next major handset, the Galaxy S8.