HTC has failed to turn things around in Q4 2012, posting its lowest profit since 2004 — just NT$1 billion ($34.5 million US) net income off NT $60 billion ($2.69 billion) income. The company's finances were slightly better than analyst expectations, but nonetheless represent a $99 million drop from Q3's already unhealthy $133 million profit, and an enormous $322 million drop year-over-year. The poor results came despite the Taiwanese manufacturer releasing the 5-inch 1080p Droid DNA Android smartphone and a pair of Windows Phone devices, the heavily-marketed flagship 8X and budget 8S.

There could be light at the end of the tunnel, however, as all three of the aforementioned devices were released mid-quarter and so didn't have enough time to fully impact HTC's finances. CEO Peter Chou believes that "the worst for HTC has probably passed," adding that the company would raise its marketing budget considerably in an effort to better compete with market leader Samsung.