Global mobile handset revenue falls for the second straight quarter in Q2 2022, report

Revenue from mobile handsets declined globally for the second straight quarter by 2% annually and 15% sequentially to reach $95.8 billion in the three months ending June, despite a 6% increase in average selling price (ASP), shows a new report by market researcher Counterpoint Research. Though revenue declined, the operating profit grew by 6% year-on-year (YoY) to $13.1 billion during the quarter.

Counterpoint attributed the decline in revenue to the decrease in handset shipments due to lockdowns in China and geopolitical uncertainty. According to a July report by another market researcher International Data Corporation (IDC), smartphone shipments declined 8.7% for the fourth straight quarter in April to June 2022.

“With the geopolitical uncertainty worsening, inflation levels rising and fears of recession growing, the handset market is bound to get impacted and may take longer to return to the trajectory predicted prior to the pandemic,” said Jan Stryjak, associate director at Counterpoint Research. 

The Counterpoint report further shows that the top five OEMs — Samsung, Apple, Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo accounted for 80% of the revenue. That said, Samsung and Apple were the only OEMs that saw annual growth of 25% and 3%, respectively, during the quarter. Meanwhile, Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi reported a double-digit YoY decline in revenue. 

Apple CEO Tim Cook said during the quarterly earnings call in July that the company doubled its revenue in India and posted double-digit growth in Brazil, Vietnam, and Indonesia in the June fiscal quarter.  

According to Counterpoint, handset revenue as well as operating profits are largely driven by Apple iPhones. 

Stryjak pointed out that the revenue is expected to grow in the second half of 2022, due to the “cyclical launch” of the “highly profitable and relatively economic downturn-resistant” iPhones. Apple launched the new iPhone 14 series on September 7. However, the company is planning to cut production by up to 6 million units as the demand for the new iPhones is lower than anticipated, Bloomberg reported early this week.