Nokia stock fell 10+% on the news that its Q2 2009 earnings were smaller than expected, and operating profit was a staggering 66% lower than over the same period in 2008, and sales were off 25% from a year ago. "Competition remains intense, but demand in the overall mobile device market appears to be bottoming out," Chief Executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said in a Wall Street Journal report.
Nokia's market share only dropped one percent this quarter, but concern is growing that the Finnish giant's recent high-end offerings - inculding the flagship N97 and lower-cost XpressMusic 5800 - can't compete with competitors' smartphones including Palm Pre, HTC Hero, and Apple iPhone 3GS. Ironically, the 5800 has exhibited strong sales each quarter since it launched.
The world's number one mobile phone maker now expects mobile device volume and market share to remain flat during Q3 of this year, which is bad news given that they previously had stated their target as increasing market share during 2009. Nokia's press release on its earnings report is online here.
