Apple Outclasses Samsung in Terms of Profitability

Apple and Samsung are currently battling it out on all grounds. Smartphones, tablets, laptops and ultrabooks: it's hard to find a product category in which Apple and Samsung aren't key competitors.

Moreover, both companies are currently entangled in one of the largest and most public patent trials in recent history. Apple is claiming that Samsung copied the design and functionality of Apple's iPhone and iPad and demands $2.5 billion in damages from its Korean rival.

Despite Samsung taking the lead in the global smartphone market, there is one area in which Apple is still miles ahead of its Korean rival: profitability. Above chart shows the net profit margins of Apple and Samsung from Q1 2009 to Q2 2012.