America’s Largest Mobile OEMs: Apple Inc. (AAPL) Overtakes LG for No. 2 Spot

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) fanboys would have you believe that the Cupertino-based tech giant is easily the world’s largest smartphone provider, and that when God cries, his tears are made of iPhones. As market share data tells us, however, this is simply not the case.

According to a new report by comScore MobiLens (originally reported by AppleInsider), Apple held approximately 17.8% of the mobile OEM (original equipment manufacturer) market at the end of October, second to only Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94)‘s mammoth 26.3% share. In the period between July and October, Apple’s market share in this arena improved by 1.5 percentage points to place it above LG Display Co Ltd. (NYSE:LPL), which currently holds 17.6% of the market.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

While the report doesn’t indicate the exact drivers behind this growth — the largest experienced by any member of the top five by a full eight-tenths of a percentage point — we can speculate that the iPhone 5 played a role. As we already discussed yesterday (see “Older iPhones Cutting Into iPhone 5 Sales“), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s iPhone 5 makes up a smaller percentage of its overall smartphone revenue, but this base is expected to grow by 25-30% YOY by the end of the quarter.

Coupled with the fact that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) now offers its “legacy” phones at lower-than-usual discounts, and we can now see why the tech giant’s market share may be improving. While it’s likely that margins will continue to be squeezed in the short term, investors can’t argue with growth, especially at the stock’s current valuation. For a longer look at Insider Monkey’s recent AAPL coverage, continue reading here.