In a note to clients — as reported by “AppleInsider” (http://www.appleinsider.com) — Canaccord Genuity analyst Michael Walkley note that Apple is estimated to have taken in 52% of the handset industry’s operating profits last quarter, despite only having a 4.2% global handset market share.

That’s a 5% increase from the third quarter of 2010, when Apple’s share of industry operating profits was 47 percent. In fact, Apple’s growth in profit share came even as Apple lost market share, notes Walkley. The iPhone dipped from a 5.4% market share to its current 4.2%t as Samsung is estimated to have led the industry in smartphone shipments for the quarter, though its profits shrank.