Towards the end of every year capital market analysts make predictions about how some of the biggest companies will perform, and since Apple sits comfortably in that list, there are quite a few analysts making predictions about the company’s fortunes in 2016. Morgan Stanley’s chief financial analyst Katy Huberty is of the view that Apple might see iPhone sales drop in the coming year.
There’s no doubt in the fact that the iPhone has proven to be a very lucrative product for Apple. Year after year the company witnesses record sales of its smartphones which contribute a healthy chunk to the tune of billions of dollars every quarter to its balance sheets.
Huberty is of the view that unit sales of the iPhone may decline next year by up to 5.7 percent, in actual numbers that would translate into yearly sales coming down from 231 million units in 2015 to 218 million units in 2016.
The analyst is of the view that this decline will be fueled by maturing smartphone penetration in developed markets as well as higher prices in some important international markets (ex-China).
While predicting a drop in iPhone sales, Huberty is also of the view that Apple’s overall revenues may grow by 2 percent, with the Apple TV and Apple Watch contributing to that growth.
Analyst predicts are always hit or miss so we’ll only really find out how the iPhone fares in the market when quarterly results are declared next year.