Samsung Estimates $8.3 Billion Profit, Beats It Own Record

Samsung's full results aren't scheduled until January 25, but its Q4 financial estimates are looking promising – says Samsung, the company had a record profit of $8.3 billion. If that number's too big to visualize, try looking at it from a different perspective: the Korean company sold nearly 500 smartphones per minute, in addition to its other sales. This makes the company's fifth record in a row.

Needless to say, Samsung's shares are also up into the "record" range, with estimates stating that Samsung will hold strong through the next quarter despite the post-holiday slump. According to the announcement, the company's operating profit increased 89-percent from last year, a jump of 8.6-percent from last year's third quarter. Estimates show Samsung's Q4 sales number at nearly $53 billion.

According to Reuters, smartphones are largely responsible for the company's records. Although the number of Galaxy S III sales declined by 3 million in the quarter to 15 million, Galaxy Note II sales hit 8 million, helping boost the sum total number of smartphones sold to somewhere in the 63 million range.

Although some have expressed concern that sales might drop, many are saying that the combination of handsets Samsung has planned and its diversity across so many products and components gives it a distinct advantage, and makes outlooks favorable. Strategy Analytics, a research firm, has stated that it expects Samsung to continue to outpace Apple into 2013, adjusting its smartphone sales estimates for the year from 215 million to 290 million.

[via Reuters]