Analyst: iPhone 5s & 5c lines suggest up to 6M opening weekend sales
Eager Apple fans have lined up for the newest iPhone in numbers comparable to previous years, leading some analysts to believe that launch weekend sales for the device will be at or above what they were for last year's model.
Looking at lines in New York, Minneapolis, and San Francisco, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster found them about equal to the lines ahead of the iPhone 5's launch. While this year's lines are actually longer ? with more than 1,800 people queueing at the 5th Avenue and Upper West Side Apple Stores ? Munster attributes this in part to the lack of a preorder period for the iPhone 5s.
Given the length of the lines, Munster expressed confidence in Jaffray's previous estimate of between five and six million iPhones sold over the launch weekend for the two devices. The firm's price target for AAPL shares is $640, with a CY14 earnings per share estimate of $45.70.
Munster's estimate is conservative compared to that of KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Kuo said in a note to investors that Apple will likely ship between six and eight million new iPhones over the first weekend of sales.
Long lines at Apple's retail stores and at carriers may allay some investor fears that Apple had underwhelmed consumers in revealing its newest generation of smartphones. Those fears were compounded by Apple declining to announce presale totals for the iPhone 5c when that device became available. Some observers took Apple's silence to indicate soft demand for the polycarbonate-backed 5c. Subsequent surveys, though, found that demand was strong for both the 5c and the 5s, and the queues in front of Apple Stores appear to bear out those results.
Looking at lines in New York, Minneapolis, and San Francisco, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster found them about equal to the lines ahead of the iPhone 5's launch. While this year's lines are actually longer ? with more than 1,800 people queueing at the 5th Avenue and Upper West Side Apple Stores ? Munster attributes this in part to the lack of a preorder period for the iPhone 5s.
Given the length of the lines, Munster expressed confidence in Jaffray's previous estimate of between five and six million iPhones sold over the launch weekend for the two devices. The firm's price target for AAPL shares is $640, with a CY14 earnings per share estimate of $45.70.
Munster's estimate is conservative compared to that of KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Kuo said in a note to investors that Apple will likely ship between six and eight million new iPhones over the first weekend of sales.
Long lines at Apple's retail stores and at carriers may allay some investor fears that Apple had underwhelmed consumers in revealing its newest generation of smartphones. Those fears were compounded by Apple declining to announce presale totals for the iPhone 5c when that device became available. Some observers took Apple's silence to indicate soft demand for the polycarbonate-backed 5c. Subsequent surveys, though, found that demand was strong for both the 5c and the 5s, and the queues in front of Apple Stores appear to bear out those results.
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Having said that, analysts extrapolating demand from queues seems worse than supply chain leaks.
I've never really been excited for an "S" iphone until this one. Would not surprise me if this one sells fast.
Having said that, analysts extrapolating demand from queues seems worse than supply chain leaks.
I hope the analysts aren't extrapolating 5C demand from the length of the queues. It seems like the vast majority of the line-ups are composed of 5S buyers. Hard to tell what the pre-order numbers are for the 5C.
Never underestimate the power of color.
When Apple put in a compass to the iPhone a long time ago, for some reason I felt, I urgently needed a compass, as this is a really nice feature/sensor.
Something similar (sensor-wise) never happened for me since then – until now: I have this urgent feeling, I need a fingerprint sensor. Seriously, this is a cool feature, and I feel rather outdated with my old fashioned, restricted, nothing more than a lame push button on my iPhone 5.
In my opinion, Touch ID is still massively underestimated.
Never underestimate the power of color.
I would say that never underestimate the power of gold.
I've never really been excited for an "S" iphone until this one. Would not surprise me if this one sells fast.
Having said that, analysts extrapolating demand from queues seems worse than supply chain leaks.
they have years of data, not that big a deal
Meanwhile, in Japan, there's an Android user, on the left in below picture, getting tired of viruses:
Viruses? Really?
they have years of data, not that big a deal
Years of data and they still get it wrong.
5C will be huge when the price drops $50-$100.
Drop it $50 and demand will increase.
Golden days, in the sunshine of a happy youth,
Golden days, full of gaiety and full of truth,
In our hearts we remember them all else above.
Golden days, days of youth and love...
******
Not just for Student Princes but for iPhones too....
Since installing iOS7 on my devices I've noticed that I've developed an addictive, compulsive behavior that makes me open things in iOS just to watch the animations.
Yes and no. Both phones are going to sell like crazy. Unfortunately, they're released less than 2 weeks before the end of the quarter - which means that delays in iPhone 5S supplies will have an impact this quarter. It's conceivable that Apple will miss this quarter's numbers from last year.
Haha me too.
But apparently Miley Cyrus tweeted that she hated the new update so I guess iOS 7 is officially a failure.