One Way Device Share Creates Revenue Share

Between them, Apple and Samsung earn nearly all the profits in the global smart phone device industry. Because other major vendors lost money in smart phones last quarter, the combined profits from Apple and Samsung in the category were greater than the total industry's Q4 profits.

Because other suppliers lost money, Apple and Samsung captured 101 percent of smart phone profits in the fourth quarter of 2012 and 103 percent for the full year, according to Canaccord Genuity analyst Michael Walkley.

Apple and Samsung's share of smartphone industry profits was greater than 100 percent every quarter of 2012. 

That sort of share also creates other revenue opportunities, though. Application providers, such as Google, often will pay a device supplier for placement as the default app on all shipped devices.

That might represent $700 million to $900 million in current annual revenue for Apple. 

Morgan Stanle