Neil Hughes
Upside to market consensus on Apple is expected from one Wall Street analyst, who sees a big holiday quarter for both the iPhone 5 and iPad mini.
Rob Cihra of Evercore Partners updated his projections for Apple's December quarter on Thursday in anticipation of the company's quarterly earnings report, scheduled for Jan. 23. Cihra expects Apple to report sales of 50 million iPhones, a 35 percent year over year increase and 86 percent growth from the previous quarter.
As for Apple's newly expanded iPad lineup, Cihra believes the company sold 24 million touchscreen tablets in the quarter, representing 56 percent year-over-year growth and a 71 percent boost from the September quarter.
In particular, he expects iPad growth to be driven by the iPad mini, which he believes accounted for 10 million units during the quarter. Cihra also noted that supply of the iPad mini remains constrained with strong demand continuing after what he called a "booming launch."
While strong performances are expected from the iPhone and iPad, Cihra believes Mac sales will decrease 3 percent year over year, hitting 5 million units in the December quarter. He attributed his forecast to limited early supply of the new iMac desktops.
Apple's record setting pace in the December quarter is expected to have consequences going forward, though. Cihra believes the company's rapid roll-out of the iPhone 5 will lead to production cuts in the March quarter, where he has forecast sales of 39 million units.
Cihra has trimmed his price target for AAPL stock to $750, down from his previous forecast of $775. But he has also maintained his "overweight" rating for the stock, and noted his figures are "wholly conservative."
Andrew Orr
Amber Neely
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
AppleInsider Staff
52 Comments
Revenue on Nook readers and books down 12.6% from a year ago. Tablets are killing the e-reader market.
Of course we are now going to hear all the good news. Have to drive that stock price up past $700 after trying so hard to drive it below $500.
Of course we are now going to hear all the good news. Have to drive that stock price up past $700 after trying so hard to drive it below $500.
Smart investors are buying up Apple stock now. It's almost like an after Christmas clearance sale for the stock.
Except these types of comments do not help Apple because they greatly exceed Apple's own conservative guidance. Apple can beat last year's sales on all accounts, but if it fails to exceed these inflated guesses the stock will be hammered. The big boys, however, will likely make sure they are in on dividend day.
[quote name="island hermit" url="/t/155291/50m-iphone-sales-booming-ipad-mini-expected-in-apples-holiday-quarter#post_2253564"]Of course we are now going to hear all the good news. Have to drive that stock price up past $700 after trying so hard to drive it below $500. [/quote] That's not the way it works. This week, we'll have analysts trying to out-do themselves with their estimates of how many trillion phones Apple sold and zillions of tablets. Then, when Apple 'only' sells 20% more than their guidance, the stock will plummet.