Apple stock hit its highest price of this year on Monday as Samsung’s exploding phone saga worsened. Samsung replaced the first batch of Note 7 phones with new ones, but the overheating problem has persisted in the replaced models. One analyst said Apple could sell millions of iPhones because of this, reports MarketWatch.
Note 7 issues to help Apple sell more iPhones
In a note on Monday, S&P analyst Angelo Zino said (before the Korean firm halted sales completely) that he expects the smartphone problems to drive some Android users over to iOS. Zino estimates that this will increase Apple’s share in the worldwide smartphone market by around 1%.
According to Zino, Samsung’s issues could assist the U.S. firm in selling 14 million to 15 million more units during the September quarter — a 7% increase from Zino’s previous sales forecast. He expects the Note 7 issues to dampen sales of the Korean smartphone maker’s future products as well.
According to industry tracker IDC, Apple had an 11.8% market share in the second quarter, while Samsung had a 22.4% share of the market. Any impact of Samsung’s woes will somewhat be visible in Apple’s next earnings report, which will include September sales. Apple will report its earnings on Oct. 25.
Samsung adjusting production
Samsung announced on Monday that all Galaxy Note 7 devices in use should be switched off. The Korean firm said that it was stopping sales of the Note 7 after the replacements had the same overheating issue as the original devices. The Korean company told MarketWatch that it was “temporarily adjusting the Galaxy Note 7 production schedule in order to take further steps to ensure quality and safety manners.”
Amid reports that the Korean company had adjusted production of its Note 7 device, Apple shares hit their 2016 high. On Monday, the stock hit an intra-day high of $116.75, bouncing 1.75% — the highest level since December 10, 2015. Year to date, the stock is up more than 8%, while in the last year, it is up almost 4%.
Zeno said the biggest U.S. carriers have halted sales of the Note 7 phones and will let customers replace their phones with a different device.
The Korean firm maker told CNBC, “We recognize that carrier partners have stopped sales and exchanges of the Galaxy Note7 in response to reports of heat damage issues, and we respect their decision…. Even though there are a limited number of reports, we want to reassure customers that we are taking every report seriously.”
