Analyst: iPhone Trumps Competition at AT&T, Verizon

AAPL stock chartDespite the popularity of Android-based smartphones, Apple’s iPhone 4 and even the older iPhone 3GS are outselling the competition at AT&T and Verizon, according to Canaccord Genuity analyst Michael Walkley. The iPhone 4 is the top selling smartphone for both carriers, and some Android phones are having trouble competing with the older version of the combination iPod and smartphone.

“Our AT&T checks indicated the $49 iPhone 3GS outsold the new HTC Inspire and Motorola Atrix Android smartphones at several stores,” Mr. Walkley said.

He added, “Our checks indicated continued strong sales of the iPhone 4, as it remained by far the top selling smartphone at AT&T and Verizon.”

Despite the steady stream of new devices running Android, Apple’s older products still seem to be more popular with customers. 

“Interestingly, our April checks indicated continued strong demand for the iPhone 3GS at AT&T and iPad 1 at Verizon, as these older generation products with reduced prices often outsold new Android products,” Mr. Walkley said. “We believe this highlights Apple’s significant competitive advantage, and these older products help Apple offer a tiered pricing strategy at key channels and the older Apple products are still very competitive versus new competitor products.

Based on his research, Mr. Walkley says Apple’s iPhone 4 is the top selling smartphone for both AT&T and Verizon.

Despite Apple’s strong position in the smartphone market, Google’s Android is still growing, and that growth seems to be coming at Microsoft’s expense. “At AT&T, our checks indicated new Android smartphones primarily gained share from Windows 7 smartphones but not from the iPhone,” he said.

Apple’s iPad seems to be performing well, too. “Our checks indicated the iPad remains the best selling tablet versus very modest sales of competing products such as the RIM PlayBook and the Motorola XOOM,” Mr. Walkley said. “Longer term, we believe Apple’s ramping iOS ecosystem will lead to a strong replacement sales cycle, and this should help drive strong longer term earnings growth.”

Mr. Walkley has a “Buy” rating and US$480 target price for Apple’s stock. Apple is currently trading at $347.57, up 0.91 (0.26%).