Samsung CEO says Galaxy S4 sales are fine, doesn't foresee patent truce with Apple

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Samsung CEO J.K. Shin had a lot to say this week, reassuring investors that the company's latest flagship smartphone is indeed selling well, while at the same time dismissing the notion that the company is anywhere close to d?tente with its chief rival, Apple.

gs4


Samsung's stock dropped six percent last week when a J.P Morgan report warned investors that sales of its recently launched Galaxy S4 smartphone could fall short of expectations. Speaking with reporters on Wednesday, though, Shin dismissed J.P. Morgan's analysis of S4 sales, according to The Korea Times.

"I can say sales of the Galaxy S4 smartphone are fine. It's been selling well," Shin told reporters after meeting with executives from Samsung's partners. "The report was based on its own analysis. Probably the bank may have corrected its previous bullish estimate about the S4 sales."

Samsung launched the S4 amid tremendous hype, and the company expects to sell around 100 million of the Android-powered device. Within its first 28 days of availability, the S4 moved 10 million units, but both J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley revised their sales estimates downward recently.

The ensuing sell-off resulted in Samsung's largest single-day drop in nine months, taking Samsung's shares to a four-month low. The South Korean conglomerate lost $12.4 billion in market capitalization, and the stock has been trending downward since.

Shin also commented on Samsung's ongoing worldwide patent struggle with Apple, saying that Samsung has no plans to relent or concede.

"Patent disputes against Apple will continue," Shin said in his first Apple-related comments since the ITC handed Samsung a win in the form of an import ban on older iPhones and iPads.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 53
    luxom3luxom3 Posts: 96member


    FWIW - this rivalry is a necessity. Neither Samsung nor Apple would really be motivated to improve, innovate, whatever without good solid threat from each other.



     

  • Reply 3 of 53
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    "Sales have been smooth."
  • Reply 4 of 53
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member


    Apple - We sold precisely X number of devices over the opening weekend of our new product. There's no guessing, there's nothing to hide. Apple just lays out the cold hard facts.


     


    Samsung and everybody else - Our sales are smooth. Our sales are fine. Trust us. We sold a shit load of devices, but there is nothing suspicious at all about us refusing to reveal any numbers. Scouts honor! I swear on my dead mother! And by the way, we are also proud to announce that 17 Billion Android devices have now been activated, and no, we are not going to provide any proof for that either.

  • Reply 5 of 53
    ktappektappe Posts: 823member


    There is a difference between a rivalry and a war. The former is healthy and capitalistic, the latter is destructive. He seems to be bragging to his investors that the patent war will continue and as an investor myself I am not happy to hear this. Because both companies have large patent libraries, each one is holding the other back so the collective result is BOTH companies are being handcuffed from bringing better products to market and therefore producing more revenue. This is not something Mr. Shin should be bragging about and astute investors would call him to the carpet for this. 

  • Reply 6 of 53
    don108don108 Posts: 79member


    Nonsense! Creators create because it's in their nature, not because of competition.

  • Reply 7 of 53
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by ktappe View Post


    There is a difference between a rivalry and a war. The former is healthy and capitalistic, the latter is destructive. He seems to be bragging to his investors that the patent war will continue and as an investor myself I am not happy to hear this. Because both companies have large patent libraries, each one is holding the other back so the collective result is BOTH companies are being handcuffed from bringing better products to market and therefore producing more revenue. This is not something Mr. Shin should be bragging about and astute investors would call him to the carpet for this. 



     


    Samsung investors (whoever they are) would be more likely to attack him if he "gave in" on the patent front. 

  • Reply 8 of 53
    gtrgtr Posts: 3,231member
    apple ][ wrote: »
    Apple - We sold sales are fine. Trust us. We sold a shit load of devices, but there is nothing suspicious at all about us refusing to reveal any numbers...

    He seems like a pretty stand-up guy. I believe him.

    Does he have anything else that he would like to sell me?
  • Reply 9 of 53
    gtrgtr Posts: 3,231member
    luxom3 wrote: »
    FWIW - this rivalry is a necessity. Neither Samsung nor Apple would really be motivated to improve, innovate, whatever without good solid threat from each other.

    This statement is not worth much.
  • Reply 10 of 53
    gtrgtr Posts: 3,231member
    don108 wrote: »
    Nonsense! Creators create because it's in their nature, not because of competition.

    Rubbish!

    Da Vinci was just trying to beat Van Gogh to the punch!

    ;)
  • Reply 11 of 53
    cnocbuicnocbui Posts: 3,613member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by GTR View Post





    Rubbish!



    Da Vinci was just trying to beat Van Gogh to the punch!



    image




    1452 - 1519


    vs


    1853 - 1890


     


    With a four century head start, I think Leonardo had it in the bag.

  • Reply 12 of 53
    cnocbuicnocbui Posts: 3,613member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Apple ][ View Post


    Apple - We sold precisely X number of devices over the opening weekend of our new product. There's no guessing, there's nothing to hide. Apple just lays out the cold hard facts.



     


    Cough


     


     


    Quote:


    Apple decided to do a very un-Apple thing this morning when it announced iPad sales for the last three days.


    Everyone wanted to know how many iPad Minis Apple sold, since it's the newest Apple product on the market.


    Instead of saying how many iPad Minis it sold, Apple decided to obfuscate, saying it sold thee million iPad Minis and fourth-generation iPads last weekend.



  • Reply 13 of 53
    geekdadgeekdad Posts: 1,131member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Don108 View Post


    Nonsense! Creators create because it's in their nature, not because of competition.



    very true! But that doesn't mean they will create something people want.....competition does that....

  • Reply 14 of 53
    tribalogicaltribalogical Posts: 1,182member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by LuxoM3 View Post


    FWIW - this rivalry is a necessity. Neither Samsung nor Apple would really be motivated to improve, innovate, whatever without good solid threat from each other.



     



     


    Wow, what a ridiculous supposition! Apple wouldn't be motivated to improve or innovate without a "threat"? You clearly don't understand them as a company at all.


     


    Even though I agree with the basic notion that 'healthy competition is a good thing' you took it into pretty faulty territory. The history of Apple all by itself proves you wrong in that regard. They are not, nor have they ever been "threat driven" in their product development.

  • Reply 15 of 53
    anantksundaramanantksundaram Posts: 20,403member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Apple ][ View Post


    Apple - We sold precisely X number of devices over the opening weekend of our new product. There's no guessing, there's nothing to hide. Apple just lays out the cold hard facts.


     


    Samsung and everybody else - Our sales are smooth. Our sales are fine. Trust us. We sold a shit load of devices, but there is nothing suspicious at all about us refusing to reveal any numbers. Scouts honor! I swear on my dead mother! And by the way, we are also proud to announce that 17 Billion Android devices have now been activated, and no, we are not going to provide any proof for that either.



    Spot on.


     


    These guys don't reveal their volumes sold/shipped because the numbers likely suck (relative to the hype). It's as simple as that.

  • Reply 16 of 53
    paxmanpaxman Posts: 4,729member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by LuxoM3 View Post


    FWIW - this rivalry is a necessity. Neither Samsung nor Apple would really be motivated to improve, innovate, whatever without good solid threat from each other.



    Now, there's a crock.

  • Reply 17 of 53
    anantksundaramanantksundaram Posts: 20,403member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by cnocbui View Post




    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Apple ][ View Post


    Apple - We sold precisely X number of devices over the opening weekend of our new product. There's no guessing, there's nothing to hide. Apple just lays out the cold hard facts.



     


    Cough


     


     


    Quote:


    Apple decided to do a very un-Apple thing this morning when it announced iPad sales for the last three days.


    Everyone wanted to know how many iPad Minis Apple sold, since it's the newest Apple product on the market.


    Instead of saying how many iPad Minis it sold, Apple decided to obfuscate, saying it sold thee million iPad Minis and fourth-generation iPads last weekend.






    Hey.... we'll take any volume numbers from the likes of Samsung.


     


    Why don't we let your pals get to that first, before asking Apple for how many Verizon 16GB white iPhone 5s were sold on alternate Thursdays in Alabama.

  • Reply 18 of 53
    cnocbuicnocbui Posts: 3,613member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by anantksundaram View Post


    Spot on.


     


    These guys don't reveal their volumes sold/shipped because the numbers likely suck (relative to the hype). It's as simple as that.





    So would you therefore suggest that Samsung are making up their numbers when they report their quarterly profits and revenue?


     


    They are either making up their financials and misleading the stock exchanges of the world or they are selling something else other than phones.  \s


     


     


    Quote:


    26 April 2013 Last updated at 01:51 GMT


    Samsung Electronics has posted a record quarterly profit, boosted mainly by growing sales of its smartphones.


    It made a net profit of 7.15tn won ($6.4bn; £4.2bn) during the period, up from 5.05tn won a year ago. Profits also rose from the previous quarter.


    The Korean firm's results are in sharp contrast with rival Apple, which this week reported a drop in quarterly profits for the first time in a decade.


    Samsung displaced Apple as the world's biggest smartphone maker last year.


    Bryan Ma of research firm IDC said that the South Korean firm was doing "very very well right now".


    "They have a lot of momentum behind what they are doing around phones, and clearly from a consumer perspective, they have a lot of excitement around their devices.


    "They have a lot of their competitors wondering what they are going to do."

    'Great strategy'


    Samsung has enjoyed great success with its smartphone division.


    According to the latest figures, profits there rose more than 55% to 6.51tn won during the first three months of the year, from a year earlier.


    Continue reading the main story


     


    "With everything that we have seen from Samsung in the past few months, and more importantly going forward, they are the competitor to beat”


    Bryan Ma IDC


    Analysts said that a key factor behind Samsung's success is that it offers a much broader range of models than its rival, Apple, which sells only the iPhone.

    "It has a great strategy of targeting its devices to multiple consumer at multiple price points," Andrew Milroy of Frost & Sullivan told the BBC


    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22305179

  • Reply 19 of 53
    philboogiephilboogie Posts: 7,675member
    "Patent disputes against Apple will continue," Shin said in his first Apple-related comments since the ITC handed Samsung a win in the form of an import ban on older iPhones and iPads.

    So they don't even want to settle. Well, that settles it then.
  • Reply 20 of 53
    rot'napplerot'napple Posts: 1,839member
    In other words, Shin is saying, "Ignore that man behind the curtain!"
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