Pacific Crest Sees Big Jump in iPhone Surfing, Rising Apple Cash Flow

by , 3:30 PM EDT, August 19th, 2008

Pacific Crest analyst Andy Hargreaves published a note to investors on Tuesday noting the rising importance of the iPhone in Internet access and suggested a potential upside to current estimates.

Mr. Hargraves noted that the iPhone is accounting for 0.3 percent of all Internet surfing, double the share back in June.

Apple was out of stock of the iPhone 2G in mid-May when it had sold about 6 million iPhones, according to Mr. Jobs at his WWDC keynote. That would suggest that Apple has sold about 5-6 million more iPhone 3Gs to date.

"iPhone's rapid share gains in Internet usage suggest potential upside to current estimates, and are a strong indicator of what we believe are lasting competitive advantages," Mr. Hargreaves wrote. "As Web-based software and services become more ingrained in our everyday working and personal lives, Apple's emerging advantage in the mobile Internet will, in our view, become increasingly valuable."

For Apple's current fiscal 4th quarter, Jul-Sep, Mr. Hargreaves said his previous estimate of 3.5 million iPhones sold could actually be 5 million.

The Pacific Crest analyst predicted a significant, positive financial impact for Apple in free cash flow. His 12 month target for AAPL is US$235.00.