Samsung? Apple? Neither? Which smartphone maker ruling Wall St.?


Samsung's revelation Tuesday quarterly operating income will fall 4% signals a dramatic end in what had been the easy-money days for tech investors.


And it's not just a major shift in smartphone demand. The battle between the smartphone maker's shares is taking a turn. The stock leading in the group now isn't Apple, nor even Samsung with its shiny new Galaxy. And Blackberry? Forgetabout it. It's Microsoft. Samsung and Apple are dealing with the reality that just about everyone who wanted a smartphone has one already. Smartphone sales growth is slowing. Samsung warned operating income in the quarter ended in March will be $8 billion and sales are to be flat. The average price of Samsung smartphones will be down 9%, an analyst says.


Microsoft is more focused on the cloud, aiming to provide online services and software to any device. While it's a player in the handset market, especially after the approval of its buy of Nokia, the real game is in the cloud. And investors have seen this coming for the past year, making Microsoft the best stock among the smartphone makers.


Fortunes were made by investors who correctly bet on the companies that took the early lead in the smartphone wars: Apple and Samsung. Shares of Apple are up 350% over the past five years and Samsung shares have gained 150%. But the leadership is certainly changing.


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