Apple passes Nokia, now most profitable handset maker

Apple has passed Nokia to become the world’s most profitable handset manufacturer, according to the latest research from Strategy Analytics. In the third quarter of 2009, Strategy Analytics estimates Apple’s operating profit for its iPhone handset division to be $1.6 billion, with Nokia reaching only $1.1 billion of operating profit over the same time period. Alex Spektor, Analyst at Strategy Analytics, said, “With strong volumes, high wholesale prices and tight cost controls, the PC vendor has successfully broken into the mobile phone market in just two years.” Neil Mawston, director of the Wireless Device Strategies service at Strategy Analytics, believes that Nokia must do better in the U.S. market if it wishes to recover, adding, “A successful fight on Apple’s high-profit home turf can simultaneously help to revitalize Nokia’s margins and to put a check on Apple’s surging growth.”