Smartphone Shipments Rose 31% in Q2 - Did Apple Cash In?

Market intelligence firm TrendForce has reported that smartphone shipments increased significantly during the second quarter. Global shipments increased 31.4 percent over Q2 2012 as manufacturers sent 221 million units to retail. This is also a 6.6 percent increase over the first quarter of the year. During this period last year, Apple AAPL increased iPhone sales by 28 percent -- a new record for the company -- after selling 26 million iPhones. Related: Domestic iPhone Sales Jump 15% in March Quarter, Setting New Record With several million additional smartphones purchased during the June quarter this year, investors may be wondering if Apple was able to cash in. Jefferies expects Apple to sell 26 million iPhones -- the same amount that the company sold last year. Societe Generale's estimate is just 100,000 units higher. Credit Suisse anticipates that Apple will announce a slightly more substantial increase with 27 million units sold. Believing that Apple has reduced its iPhone production forecasts for the latter half of the year, Wedge Partners has lowered its full-year sales expectation from 115 - 120 million units to 90 - 100 million units. Neither number should be particularly difficult for Apple to reach. During the fiscal first and second quarters, Apple sold more than 85 million iPhones. It's not a stretch to imagine that the company will sell another 35 million before the year is over -- even if the iPhone 5S has not been released in time for the fiscal fourth quarter. Apple will report its fiscal 2013 third quarter results today (July 23) after the market close. Smartphone manufacturers are not the only ones that stand to benefit this week. According to The Wall Street Journal, the Defense Department is loosening its restrictions on a valuable spectrum that is used exclusively in training pilots to control drones. Specific details have not been revealed, but the Pentagon will now offer a compromise to wireless carriers that have been looking to gain access to the spectrum. This could be a huge win for the nation's four largest carriers -- AT&T T, Verizon VZ, Sprint S and T-Mobile TMUS. In speaking to The Wall Street Journal, a T-Mobile representative referred to the Defense Department's compromise as a "significant breakthrough." Louis Bedigian is the Senior Tech Analyst and Features Writer of Benzinga. You can reach him at 248-636-1322 or louis(at)benzingapro(dot)com. Follow him @LouisBedigianBZ