It’s pretty much impossible to argue that Apple didn’t revolutionize and reshape the mobile intdustry in the U.S. and around the world. The iPhone changed the concept of what a smartphone could be in 2007. The App Store reimagined smartphone apps and how they could be sold in 2008. And the iPad revolutionized the face of tablet computing in 2010. Those are pretty significant accomplishments technically and culturally.
Now, we also know how Apple reshaped and grew mobile industry financially… and how all of that growth is pocketed in the process.
According to All Things D, Morgan Keegan analyst Tavis McCourt charted the industry’s revenue performance, specifically looking at smartphones and tablets. The results show that industry revenues have essentially doubled since the iPhone was introduced in 2007 from $37.9 billion to $71.4 billion.
What’s startling is that all the new revenue growth in mobile since then has belonged to Apple.
Fourth quarter 2007 revenue from the entire mobile industry was $37.93 billion. For the same quarter in 2011, revenue for the entire industry except Apple was $37.97 billion. Apple’s revenues in that quarter comes in at $33.5 billion – approximately 47% of the industry total.
That’s an astonishing acheivement on Apple’s part. As McCourt notes, Apple has abbout 11% of shipment volume in this segment of the mobile industry but accounts for 47% of its overall revenue and 80% of its profits.
