Predictions of disappointing Q2 iPhone sales could be unduly pessimistic, says Morgan Stanley’s Katy Huberty. She expects Apple to announce that it shipped 42M iPhones in the first quarter of the year (Apple’s fiscal Q2), rather than the 38M suggested by supply chain analysis, reports Business Insider. This would represent year-on-year growth of more than 4.5M handsets.
Huberty bases her estimate on a method which sounds eccentric but has an excellent track-record …
Huberty’s numbers are pulled from the AlphaWise Smartphone Tracker, which uses analysis of web searches. While this sounds bizarre, the tracker has proven more accurate that the Wall Street consensus estimates for three out of the last four quarters.
We’ll have a while to wait to find out: Apple is expected to announce its Q2 numbers on or around 23rd April.
Apple reported all-time quarterly highs for both iPhone and iPad sales in Q1, though the stock market was seemingly unimpressed, having expected even more.
