Samsung on Friday released its audited earnings report for the third quarter, confirming performance that has once again climbed to new records on the back of its Galaxy smartphone line. The electronics giant reported earlier this month that it would post an operating profit of between $9.2 billion and $9.6 billion, and the company caught the top end of that estimate. Samsung’s record $9.6 billion operating profit was up 26 percent from the year-ago quarter, and the company also topped its earlier record for quarterly net profit as Q3 net climbed to $7.76 billion on $55.6 billion in revenue.
Sales of Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S4 smartphone may be slowing significantly, but low-end smartphone revenue picked up dramatically in the third quarter, giving Samsung a huge boost. According to The Wall Street Journal, analysts estimate that Samsung sold between 85 million and 89 million smartphones into channels last quarter. By comparison, Apple is expected to have sold fewer than 35 million iPhones last quarter.
