Shipments hit a 2012 low
Global smartphone shipments fell 20% year over year in the third quarter of 2026, the weakest third quarter since 2012, according to preliminary estimates from Counterpoint Research cited in the release. Counterpoint tied the decline to rising DRAM and NAND memory prices, which raised component costs and pushed global retail smartphone prices up 20% so far this year. The release also noted IDC's February forecast that 2026 shipments would fall 12.9% to 1.12 billion units, which IDC called the steepest decline on record, as AI data center buildouts absorbed memory supply and chipmakers gave priority to higher-margin data center parts. IDC projected the average selling price would rise 14% to a record $523.
Samsung leads as Apple passes 20%
Counterpoint's third-quarter figures put Samsung in first place with a 23% share on a 3% shipment decline, while Apple took 22%, its first third-quarter share above 20%. Xiaomi's shipments fell more than 30%, and OPPO and vivo each fell more than 20%, the release said. Counterpoint senior analyst Shilpi Jain said consumers are holding on to their devices longer than the firm had estimated. In China, the largest smartphone market, IDC's preliminary data showed shipments down 15.4% in the quarter.
Handset suppliers absorb the hit
Qualcomm reported fiscal third-quarter 2026 revenue of $9.9 billion, down 4% year over year, with handset chip revenue of $5.09 billion, down 20%. The company cited a challenging memory and supply environment and rising input costs, and said automotive revenue grew 61% to $1.59 billion. It guided fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $9.7 billion to $10.5 billion. Apple reported fiscal third-quarter revenue of $109.4 billion, up 16%, including iPhone revenue of $54.3 billion. Counterpoint attributed a decline in Apple's September-quarter shipments partly to the absence of a base iPhone 18 model, even as the company gained share; IDC put Apple's China share at 17.8%, up from 15.8% a year earlier. The release described a split market, with handset makers and their chip suppliers absorbing the hit while memory makers posted records.
Memory makers report records
Micron reported record fiscal fourth-quarter 2026 revenue of $54.23 billion, up from $11.32 billion a year earlier, and fiscal 2026 revenue of $133.19 billion. Its Mobile and Client business unit generated $13.11 billion in the quarter against $3.76 billion a year earlier, and the company guided first-quarter fiscal 2027 revenue of $61.5 billion, plus or minus $1.5 billion. Chairman and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said the company expects an even stronger fiscal 2027. Sandisk reported fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $8.97 billion, up 372% year over year and 51% from the prior quarter, with about two-thirds of the sequential increase from higher pricing; consumer revenue slipped 5% to $556 million, and the company guided first-quarter fiscal 2027 revenue of $10.30 billion to $10.80 billion. Arm reported record first-quarter fiscal 2027 revenue of $1.29 billion, up 22%, including royalty revenue of $715 million, also up 22%, and told its earnings call that elevated memory prices were softening the smartphone market, with full-year royalty growth now expected closer to the high teens as data center demand offsets handset weakness.
