Newspapers like Forbes, CNet, WSJ and many other say that it is possible to have total profit of industry more than 100 %.
Examples:
Apple and Samsung account for more than 100% of industry profits because other makers broke even or lost money
Samsung and Apple combined to take 106% percent of the industry's profits. How do they take more than 100%? Well, it's a quirk of the fact that everyone else in the industry is losing money, or breaking even. Apple has 65% of the industry's profits, and Samsung has 41%.
Source: Business Insider: Apple And Samsung Have 106% Of The Smartphone Industry's Profits
I can't imagine that. Profit means positive value. Negative value is loss. Is it possible to count loss into total industry profit?
When I create an example like this:
Company A - loss 100
Company B - loss 100
Company C - profit 10
Company D - loss 10 = total "profit" -200.
Company C would take -5 % of industry profits.
Company D would take 5 % ...
How it is possible that big newspapers use such irrational math?