What They Say
Samsung reported profits of $8.45 billion on sales of $59 billion in Q1 2021. Solid sales of smartphones and consumer electronics outweighed lower earnings from semiconductors and displays. The display business saw sales of $6.24 billion with profits of $324 million. Sales of mobile panels were down because of chip shortages and mobile seasonality. Smartphones are expected to remain weak but the company hopes to ‘smooth the way for the transition to new business model based on QD display technology’.
Apple, which wasn’t doing badly before, has doubled its profits on strong iPhone sales, especially in China. Revenues were $89.6 billion in Q1 (up more than 50% on last year) and profit was $23.6 billion up from $11.3 billion a year ago.
What We Think
Google and Micrsoft also announced big profits. At this time of the quarter it would be easy to cover nothing other than finance, but we’ll try just to give a sense of ‘which way the wind is blowing’.
I reported on Apple’s investment plans yesterday (Apple Commits $430 Billion in US Investments Over Five Years) and a correspondent pointed out that the total included dividends and stock buybacks, so not perhaps investments as your auditor might understand them. I was reminded of a time back several decades when ‘creative accounting’ was on the rise. At one point I heard of a company booking its advertising expenditure as a balance sheet positive balance on the grounds that ‘to compete with us, others will have to spend the same, so it’s an asset’ (or words to that effect). We’ve moved on from there, but definitions can still be a bit grey! (BR)
