William Blair’s Anil Doradla today reiterates an Outperform rating on shares of Apple (AAPL), writing that he is not concerned the company’s iPhone will lose its rank as the top smartphone in North America, even though there is slippage appearing, in particular at Verizon Communications (VZ)
Although the iPhone is overall still the best-selling device across North American carriers, writes Doradla, “our checks highlight initial signs of Apple�s momentum under pressure, particularly at Verizon, which we believe is from the operator aggressively marketing competing 4G devices,” referring to the volume of sales for the phone as of the June quarter, based on his “checks.”
Since Apple�s iPhone launch in North America, we believe this was the first quarter where the iPhone was not the best-selling smartphone at a North American mobile operator (where it was available). While Apple continued to maintain its top position at AT&T and Sprint, Motorola�s Droid RAZR MAXX was the best- selling smartphone at Verizon. Our checks also indicate that at this stage consumers are not pausing in front of the iPhone launch as it is not influencing their purchasing decisions (but we expect it to start impacting over the next couple of months). Despite the “increased competitive landscape from 4G devices (and the iPhone 4S is not 4G),” Doradia is “not worried” as the next iPhone model, a true 4G phone, “will be an important catalyst for the company,” he believes.
Samsung Electronics (005930KS) had the third spot behind the iPhone at Verizon with the “Galaxy Nexus” unit, according to Doradla’s checks.
Apple shares today are up $6.04, or 1%, at $586.36.
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