Analyst

Analyst doubles down: iPhone 5S with fingerprint sensor coming this summer

Cody Lee ∙ March 5, 2013

Back in January, KGI Securities' Ming-Chi Kuo revealed, what he believed to be, Apple's product roadmap for 2013. Kuo is known to have well-placed sources in Apple's supply chain, and has been accurate in the past, so his predictions tend to carry more weight than others.

The report claimed, among other things, that Apple is planning to release an iPhone 5S—complete with faster processor, improved camera and built-in finger print sensor—alongside the long rumored budget iPhone, this summer. And today, Kuo doubled down on his claims...

AAPL dips below $400B, Buffett tells Cook to ignore cash complaints, buy back stock

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 11, 2018

You can't get a better financial advisor than Warren Buffett. The so-called 'Oracle of Omaha' Monday weighed in on what Apple should do, faced with low stock prices and one investor's call to use the iPhone maker's billions in cash. Although Buffett's appearance Monday morning on CNBC lasted three hours, the short version is this:

Apple CEO Tim Cook should buy his company's stock while cheap. It's uncertain whether the financial whiz will have any luck, seeing Cook's predecessor Steve Jobs supposedly ignored similar advice. Coincidentally or not, Apple’s market capitalization dropped below $400 billion in early trading Monday, the first such drop since January 2012...

Barclays: budget iPhone and China Mobile-compatible iPhone 5S due in August

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 1, 2013

Per a rumor out of China, Apple won't release a new iPhone at its upcoming summer developer conference. Instead, Tim Cook & Co. are thought to be targeting an August 2013 launch for both the iPhone 5S, a specs upgrade, and an inexpensive iPhone model, aimed at emerging markets that sell mostly unsubsidized handsets. And for the first time, the next iPhone will be Apple's first truly world phone capable of supporting a bunch of flavors of fourth-generation Long-Term Evolution (LTE) radio technology, including China Mobile-compatible TD-SCDMA network...

Cricket seeing much weaker than expected iPhone sales

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Leap Wireless, the US telecommunications company that owns and operates the regional carrier Cricket, just submitted a rather alarming filing with the the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

It seems that Cricket is only on pace to sell through half of its first-year commitment with Apple, which goes to June, leaving it on the hook for some $100 million in remaining iPhone purchases...

Here’s your math behind a budget iPhone

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 22, 2013

After meeting with Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer recently, Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty issued a report proclaiming so-called budget iPhone a no-brainer. Huberty joins what is now a growing list of analysts calling for such a device so Apple could better target emerging markets where cash-strapped folks mostly buy unlocked sub-$200 handsets - unlike the United States where carriers subsidize smartphones handsomely.

Thanks to these generous subsidies, US consumers don't pay full price for the hardware - provided they agree to a long-term service agreement, of course. Now, with the penetration level for the iPhone approaching a limit in the high-end segment, the untapped low-end represents an estimated $135 billion opportunity.

Even with Apple's margins peaking, an iPhone mini - as the media dubbed it - should triple Apple's addressable market in China and add nearly $2.4 billion to its handset business...

Piper Jaffray: Apple to debut low-cost iPhone in September quarter

Cody Lee ∙ February 20, 2013

There are currently 3 or 4 strong rumors floating around the Apple-centric blogosphere these days: the iTV, the more recently popular iWatch, and then the recurring low-cost or 'budget' iPhone. What's funny is, some of these rumors have been around for years.

But if you ask The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, or anyone at Piper Jaffray, the budget iPhone will finally materialize this year. Reiterating its report from January, the firm sent out a note to investors claiming that a low-cost iPhone is on the way...

Barclays says Samsung momentum ‘begs an answer from Apple’

Cody Lee ∙ February 19, 2013

It's no secret that Apple has fallen out of the good graces of most Wall Street analysts. And with its stock price still bouncing around $250 below its last-September high, and no new products on the horizon, it doesn't look like that's going to change anytime soon.

I wouldn't say Apple's in trouble though. It's coming off a record high quarter in iPhone sales, revenue and other metrics, and has more than $130 billion in cash. But the folks over at the prestigious Barclays firm say that it's about time for Tim Cook to panic...

Rumor: 4.8-inch iPhone 6 arriving in summer 2014

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 13, 2013

Jeffries analyst Peter Misek is on a roll. First he wrote in a note issued to clients this morning that channel checks led him to believe that the iPhone 5S is entering production in March for a likely June/July introduction.

Then word came that Misek thinks Apple could be holding a media event next month to announce a software development kit (SDK).

The official SDK would enable programmers to write full-screen 1080p apps and games for the Apple TV set-top box. And now, we learn that Misek doesn't see the 4.8-inch iPhone launching this year at all. Instead, Apple is looking to release a bigger iPhone in mid-2014, he writes...

Analyst: iPhone 5 sales decelerating, iPhone 5S enters manufacturing in March

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 13, 2013

According to one analyst, Apple's suppliers are getting ready for iPhone 5S manufacturing, which should commence in March with a likely summer introduction in mind.

With the next-gen iPhone just a few months away, Apple is apparently winding down some iPhone 5 manufacturing as sales of the handset are "decelerating faster than expected".

Per the rumor-mill, the iPhone 5S will be a mid-cycle specs upgrade sporting a faster CPU/GPU (likely a new A7 chip). Rumors are also suggesting a higher-resolution camera (possibly a 13-megapixel sensor). Some think Apple will for the first time offer the iPhone in a range of colors, though the handset is expected to retain the current two-tone industrial design...

Analyst sees Apple TV media event in March (update: nope)

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 13, 2013

Apple could be holding an Apple TV-related media event next month, according to Jeffries analyst Peter Misek. Despite the mounting rumors that Apple is working on a standalone television set, channel checks led the analyst to believe that the assumed event will serve as a launchpad for a software development kit allowing programmers to write third-party applications for Apple's $99 set-top box, something a lot of people have been clamoring for...

iWatch, iTV: an $80 billion opportunity

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

The iWatch, a rumored Apple smart watch, and the iTV, a rumored standalone Apple TV set, may be just vapourware for the time being, but that's not stopping analysts from guesstimating what the two gadgets might contribute to Apple's bottom line.

Per analyst Katy Huberty, assuming annual sales of 50 million units and an average selling price between $200 and $300, the iWatch could drive an incremental $10 to $15 billion in revenue, or $2.50 to $4.00 in per-share earnings, each year. Dick Tracey's futuristic wrist watch has nothing on it...

$300 budget iPhone due in June, analyst says

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 11, 2013

Topeka Capital analyst Brian White asserted Monday morning that a lower-priced iPhone could be introduced as early as this June. It will be sold unsubsidized for about $250-$300, he thinks, and suggests "iPhone Mini" or "iPhone Air" as names. Just as The Wall Street Journal originally reported, White expects the less-expensive iPhone to use a plastic body instead of metal and glass.

It would have a lower margin than prior iPhones though Apple could make up for the difference in sheer volume as carriers in emerging markets like China, Brazil and India could position the device as a competitive offering to local brands, like the Xiaomi handset which costs around $320 off-contract in China...