Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 disaster has killed its mobile profits
You probably know the story by now: Samsung releases phone, phone starts exploding, chaos ensues. The Korean company's Galaxy Note 7 went from one of the most promising handsets its ever made to one of the biggest disasters in consumer tech history. To make matters worse, Samsung still hasn't specified how its device managed to malfunction through two full recalls.
One thing that isn't a mystery? The fiasco has been horrible for Samsung's bottom line. The company announced its third-quarter earnings early Thursday, and as this chart from Statista shows, its mobile profits plunged a whopping 96% year-over-year, in large part due to the lack of a flagship product. Overall net profits were down roughly 17%.
Now, Samsung is a huge company, with its hands in many segments beyond smartphones. It's got a lot of money in the bank, and a return to its usual mobile profitability wouldn't be surprising. But if you're working there, the Galaxy S8 can't come soon enough.
