A Christmas miracle: iPhone X now available at 97% of US Apple stores
Customers looking to buy an iPhone X post-Christmas should have little problem, as new data shows the device in stock at as many as 97 percent of U.S. Apple stores.
During the week of Dec. 18 through the 25th, availability at 139 of Apple's 271 U.S. locations grew from 56 to 97 percent for an average of 75 percent, Loup Ventures analyst Gene Munster said in a memo shared with AppleInsider. That average compares against 44 percent the previous week, and 25 percent the week before that.
In eight countries, Apple's online lead times by the 25th were said to be about 4 days, versus 3 days on the 18th and the week's average of 5 days -- unchanged from the week prior.
The iPhone X should reach "global supply demand equilibrium" in mid-January, Munster has said, giving Apple's March quarter a "small bump up" from December demand rolling over.
"The bigger story is that the [Wall] Street is underestimating the positive ASP [average sales price] impact from the iPhone X over the next few quarters, which should play out as a positive to the Apple story," Munster argued. The analyst called for an ASP of $740 for Apple's 2018 fiscal year, versus general Street consensus of $705.
On Monday, Taiwan's Economic Daily News claimed that Apple is trimming iPhone X orders for the next quarter from 50 million to just 30 million, which led to stock dips for the company's suppliers. Apple typically scales back production to some degree post-Christmas, however.
During the week of Dec. 18 through the 25th, availability at 139 of Apple's 271 U.S. locations grew from 56 to 97 percent for an average of 75 percent, Loup Ventures analyst Gene Munster said in a memo shared with AppleInsider. That average compares against 44 percent the previous week, and 25 percent the week before that.
In eight countries, Apple's online lead times by the 25th were said to be about 4 days, versus 3 days on the 18th and the week's average of 5 days -- unchanged from the week prior.
The iPhone X should reach "global supply demand equilibrium" in mid-January, Munster has said, giving Apple's March quarter a "small bump up" from December demand rolling over.
"The bigger story is that the [Wall] Street is underestimating the positive ASP [average sales price] impact from the iPhone X over the next few quarters, which should play out as a positive to the Apple story," Munster argued. The analyst called for an ASP of $740 for Apple's 2018 fiscal year, versus general Street consensus of $705.
On Monday, Taiwan's Economic Daily News claimed that Apple is trimming iPhone X orders for the next quarter from 50 million to just 30 million, which led to stock dips for the company's suppliers. Apple typically scales back production to some degree post-Christmas, however.
Comments
Which analyst do you believe? What do the chicken bones show us for the future? The stock market runs on greed and fear. Every share sold because of fear is bought because of greed.
I don't know why people think they can interpret these things with only one piece of information. Let's say I'm out of breath. A bunch of people decide I just had a heart attack; a bunch of people think I just ran a marathon, and a bunch of people decided that I'm out of shape and ran up some stairs. Then a small group of people thinks, "Maybe I need more information to understand this."
There is always a decent cadre of die hard fans, early adopters, journalists, etc that wants the latest iPhone, so the early sales numbers aren’t a terribly accurate indicator of demand. Given the new form factor, Face ID and other changes with the iPhone X, I suspect this group is likely a bit larger than it was for, say, the iPhone 7. After the initial dust settles, the true market emerges.
As I’ve said before, I suspect many people will decide that the extra features the iPhone X has don’t justify the price premium over an iPhone 8, but the market will tell. If sales are really bad, Apple will come out with the iPhone XI next year and drop the price, which is good for all of us.