Up to 1 million iPhones may be purchased through Apple gift cards, giving Cupertino a boost during an otherwise expected flat 2009, one analyst said Wednesday.
Use of Apple gift cards to purchase iPhones means many handsets won’t be activated until after Dec. 25. That delay could result in misleading December iPhone sales, Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu told investors.
“The risk here is that the customer will likely activate post-Christmas; therefore revenue and units won’t likely be recognized until the March quarter,” Wu wrote. March is viewed as usually a weak month for sales.
Wu expects Apple will report selling 6 million iPhones for the December quarter, down slightly from the 6.9 million announced in September. The analyst’s prediction agrees with a consensus of 6 million to 6.5 million iPhones shipped for this period.
On another issue, Wu maintains Apple will introduce a sub-$100 iPhone, but not before the end of the year. A flurry of rumors appeared recently that discount retail giant Walmart might sell a $99 4GB iPhone Dec. 28.
4 responses to “Apple Gift Cards Could Add 1M iPhones”
“The risk here is that the customer will likely activate post-Christmas; “
LOL! I think not. Someone gifts me an iPhone and that puppy gets activated before I sit down for the meal! I can’t imagine it’d be much different for many people.
I don’t think you get it. They mean someone will receive a gift card for christmas, and will have to buy, and activate, the iphone later…