Merrill Lynch says Boot Camp likely to increase Mac sales
Analysts for Merrill Lynch on Wednesday said Apple's new Boot Camp software should be an incremental positive in the near-term that will likely increase the company's total addressable market (TAM).
The analyst suspects most users wanting Windows will be price sensitive on hardware, and so far Apple has tended not to lead in low end price points. However, he notes the feature can be viewed as taking some of the risk out of a switch to Mac because the investment can be easily
repurposed to run Windows natively.
"Apple's (TAM) should increase, though we are not yet convinced it will increase by an amount
sufficient to dramatically change earnings power," Farmer wrote. "Our model suggests that for
every point of PC market share gained, Apple generates more than $2 billion in incremental revenue and $0.42 NOPAT/share, including attached peripherals."
NOPAT is lingo for Net Operating Profit After Tax, an estimate of what a company would earn if it didn't have any debt, equal to operating income times (1 minus the tax rate).
Farmer and Merrill Lynch maintain a "Neutral" rating on Apple shares.
12 Comments
"Brawny announces paper towels may get wet when introduced to water."
I think Merrill Lynch is really missing the market draw here, and the customer base targeted. Apple isn't going after the gamers so much as all those marketing/sales/executives that have wanted Apple machines or who simply go after whatever is perceived as "the best" at time of purchase. BootCamp simply erodes the risk/arguement against a PowerBook for these users (who will likely end up running XP nearly full time at work on their Apples).
Is it a huge market segment? No. But it's a lucrative one.
What I have found interesting in the switcher wars is that people I know who went into the Apple store here to buy a Mini, came out with an iMac instead.
I really don't think the price issue is as great as it is thought to be.
While the iMacsales are atthe lmits of what Apple's partners can turn out, the Mini's sales remain ok, to fairly good.
One wouldn't think that it would be the case. Perhaps Apple should figure out a way to sneak a keyboard and mouse in for a nominal charge.
Of course, we don't know how many walk into the store, and walk out with nothing.
At CNN they have a poll on whether boot camp would affect one 's decision to purchase a mac. With a little over 5000 responses, 62% stick with windows, 26% consider switch, 12% already have have mac. FWIW.
At CNN they have a poll on whether boot camp would affect one 's decision to purchase a mac. With a little over 5000 resonses, 62% stick with windows, 26% consider switch, 12% already have have mac. FWIW.
26% not a bad target!
All this before leopard!
Expect the Mac market share to explode in the next few years because of Boot Camp and because of Parallels Workstation 2.1 which is even better because no reboot is required and you can have Mac, Linux and Windows open at once, switch between them and share files and folders:
http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2006/...06081519.shtml
The ultimate UNIVERSAL computer has arrived!!!