When Market Share Matters -- Or Not

You can't discuss smartphones and tablets without coming back to Apple and Samsung. The two giants are crushing the mobile market with impunity, owning about half of the world's device sales between them (not to mention all of the mobile profits).

But why should investors bother to look at market share figures? Isn't the mobile industry big enough for the two of these dueling cowboys -- and more besides?

In this video, Fool contributor Anders Bylund explains why market share matters, but maybe not for the reasons you thought. This is not a game of thrones as much as it is a battle for survival if you're not part of the ruling class. That's bad news for BlackBerry as well as the odd couple of Nokia and Microsoft. The only time the king really matters is when there are no dukes getting within grabbing distance of his crown. Look to Netflix for a modern example of this. In both cases, life is exceedingly hard for the little guys.

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The article When Market Share Matters -- Or Not originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Anders Bylund owns shares of Google and Netflix. The Motley Fool recommends Apple, Google, and Netflix. The Motley Fool owns shares of Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Netflix. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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