Apple’s iPhone is already selling well, but Broadpoint AmTech analyst Brian Marshall thinks there’s still plenty of room for growth, especially outside of the United States.
Apple reported selling some 8.75 million iPhones during its second fiscal quarter of 2010, or a 131 percent increase compared to the same quarter last year. Those numbers helped the company hit US$13.5 billion in revenue for the quarter and show $3.07 billion in profit.
“The most interesting part to the Apple story in our view for calendar year 2010 remains the international ramp of the iPhone,” Mr. Marshall said. “We believe Apple has only penetrated about 1.5 percent of its 150+ international carrier partners’ total postpaid subscriber base (about 525 million) versus its U.S. penetration peak of about 5.0 percent with AT&T in September ‘09 (about 65 million).”
He added “It took ten quarters for the iPhone to reach that 5.0 percent postpaid subscriber penetration at AT&T, and we believe the international opportunity could essentially double about eight quarters from now (about 16 million units per quarter).”
According to Mr. Marshall’s projections, Apple will sell about 40 million iPhones, generating about 60 percent of the company’s gross profits in calendar year 2010.
Mr. Marshall is maintaining his “Buy” rating for Apple’s stock, and raising his target price to $320. Apple is currently trading at $258.57, up 13.98 (5.72%).