ABI Research, a market research and market intelligence firm headquartered in New York, has released its ranking of the world's most profitable mobile network carriers, based on the companies' Q2 2013 financial results.

China Mobile, a leading mobile network provider in China, takes up the No.1 spot, followed by U.S. Verizon Wireless and AT&T. China Telecom ranks 7th.

Gross profits of the top five mobile carriers account for 49 percent of the total profits of the 50 largest mobile carriers tracked by ABI Research.

While China Mobile grabbed the top position in terms of total profits, its quarterly gross profit per subscriber is only US$16.40, ranking 48th. Verizon Wireless comes in fourth with US$71.8 and AT&T 5th with US$60.4.

With the proportion of revenues from 3G and 4G data services increasing, China Mobile's overall profitability is expected to be further boosted.

The following are the top 10 profitable mobile network carriers in the world as compiled by ABI Research.

 KDDI

Markets Served: Japan

Gross profit: US$1,681.2 million

Year-over-year change: 59.6 percent