Imagine building a fast car and only being able to initially drive it on a crowded city street. That is sort of the position Apple is in with its iPad 2, according to one Wall Street expert. Demand (horsepower) far exceeds supply (the crowded street). Which is why Apple stock – despite being likely to meet the Street’s consensus – still has room to grow.
“The takeaway likely will be that iPad was supply-constrained and has an open growth opportunity in calendar 2011 and calendar 2012,” Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster told investors Thursday.
Although Japan provides 5 percent of Apple’s revenue, Munster believes the events there “affected the March quarter, and will likely be a headwind for part of the June quarter.” That quarter could result in $23.39 billion in revenue – just off the $23.85 Wall Street consensus.
Add the potential for Apple not to introduce the iPhone 5 until September and the March financial quarter may be little remembered as anything more than a blip for a strong stock.
[Barron’s]
