Brean Capital says iPhone sales will fall to 216M this year, grow again in 2017

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By Larry Banks

The firm remains upbeat about Apple, but Brean Capital believes Apple experience a fall in iPhone sales this year by 16 million units against a backdrop of a slowing smartphone market.

Analyst Ananda Baruah issued an investor’s note on Monday, according to AppleInsider, which confirms Bran’s “buy” rating on Apple stock, but cutting the price target from $170 to $155.

In all, the analyst believes Apple could sell 216 million phones in 2016, declining from the 232 million shipped in 2015. The prediction sees iPhone sales remaining consistent for the next few quarters reaching 50 million in the just-finished March period, falling to 40 million units in June, and growing to 50 million in the September quarter.

During the holiday season, Brean Capital’s forecast believes the iPhone 7 will drive sales up to 70 million. If accurate, that would in fact be a decrease from the iPhone 6s and 6 launches which reached almost 75 million units.

For smartphone growth the firm is looking forward to 2017 when it predicts Apple will sell 237 million phones, exceeding the 232 million sold in 2015 and a new record for the company.

Apple already indicated it expects iPhone sales to fall for the first time ever in the March quarter. The firm will reveal its quarterly results in an earnings report on April 25th.

Investors have recently expressed concern that declines might continue past March into the rest of 2016. In a more extreme forecast, Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities said on Monday that he believes shipments will fall below 200 million for the year. However, he has a very mixed track record as far as Apple projects are concerned.

Apple launched its latest 4-inch iPhone SE last week with an attractive price of $399, but that device is not expected to outperform the company’s flagship 6s series. A new iPhone with an all-new design is slated for a September debut.

SOURCE: AppleInsider.

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