When it comes to Apple, people always want to know what they’re working on over there, and consequently, the rumor mill is always churning out stories. But just how believable are those stories? One analyst has some strong predictions which include that rumored and much-debated car Apple is supposedly working on.
Apple to keep beating iPhone predictions
FBR & Co. analyst Daniel Ives listed several predictions for next year, with the first being that Apple will keep surprising to the positive on iPhone sales. He doesn’t buy all the bearish comments that iPhone sales will disappoint this year because of the tough comparisons with last year’s iPhone 6 models. He expects legacy 6 upgrades will boost iPhone sales in fiscal 2016.
He thinks Apple leads the way in innovation and that the stickiness of the iOS ecosystem will keep consumers loyal. He also thinks mobile and bring-your-own-device trends will continue to drive demand for the iPhone, as will the continued hardware and software updates. Also he expects China to boost sales this year.
And then there’s China, which is the next consumer big market Apple and every other U.S. firm under the sun seeks to conquer. Ives sees a $100 billion opportunity in iPhones alone, which he expects to “remain white hot despite macro fears.” He believes China will be Apple’s largest region by late 2017.
TV and iPad Pro to boost revenue
He also expects Apple to announce that rumored streaming TV service to be announced in the first half of calendar 2016 and that it will present a “major ‘game-changing’ opportunity” in the living room.
Additionally, he expects sales of the iPad Pro to turn the downward trend around by helping Apple crack open the enterprise market. He expects enterprise sales to rise to 15% of Apple’s total revenues. Currently they make up about 10% of revenues.
What about that Apple car?
And then there’s that Apple car, which has been rumored for some time and is open for much debate about whether the rumors will result in an Apple-branded car. He believes that within the next year, Project Titan—as it’s called—will “gain steam” as Apple keeps hiring experts who are on the cutting edge of the auto industry. The company has already been doing this, poaching some engineers from Tesla Motors and others in the auto industry.
He expects “significant” investments in research and development on the project this year and thinks Apple might acquire some companies in the “next-generation auto arena” at some point. He sees a 60% to 70% possibility of an Apple Car by 2020 based on his analysis. He says the wild card is the possible $75 billion to $100 billion share repurchase program, which he also sees as possible in fiscal 2016 because Apple’s cash pile continues to climb.
Shares of Apple fell by as much as 0.4% to $120.57 per share during afternoon trading today.
