JPMorgan is raining on Apple’s parade. Reports by the major carriers of huge pre-orders for the new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus and increased sales volumes are a result of aggressive promotions and are not higher than expected, according to JPMorgan Analyst Rod Hall.
Hall urged caution, saying that the positive reaction to the iPhone 7 is premature, predicting that growth in the U.S. for the iPhone 7 in the December quarter will be consistent with JPMorgan’s below-consensus iPhone sell-through expectations. Hall predicted year-on-year growth for the December quarter after declines in June and September. Hall’s conservative approach is in spite of the troubles with Samsung and its Galaxy Note 7 fire-prone model, which couldn’t have come at a better time for Apple. Hall did say, “We continue to believe the stock is undervalued with better options for growth in 2017.” Subsidies from the four major U.S. carriers will end in October.
Here is the data:
32% | The percentage of iPhone units that the U.S. accounts for in the December estimates; that percentage was 35 percent for the September quarter
9% | Apple’s percentage gain year to date, largely due to the launch of the iPhone 7 last week
5% |The decline in iPhone year-on-year growth in the U.S. for the June quarter
4% | IPhone growth in the U.S. for the December quarter year over year, as predicted by JPMorgan
2% | The decline in iPhone year-on-year growth in the U.S. expected in the September quarter