Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty says the firm’s AlphaWise Smartphone Tracker shows that Apple’s quarterly iPhone sales may beat Wall Street estimates, selling as many as 39 million new iPhones in the second quarter of calendar year 2014. Wall Street consensus predicts 35 million iPhones sold for the quarter.
Huberty believes iPhone sales will get a boost this quarter due to deep discounts on iPhone upgrades that entice consumers to buy a new iPhone, despite the upcoming rumored launch of the iPhone 6. Apple recently launched a promotion that encourages customers to trade-in their old iPhone and receive credit towards an iPhone 5s or 5c. Apple is offering iPhone 4 users up to $99, while iPhone 4s owners can get up to $199 as a store credit, making an upgrade to a subsidized iPhone 5s virtually free.
Recent weeks have also seen carriers and third-party retailers also discounting the iPhone. Apple is also reportedly readying its stores to sell the iPhone along with contract-free calling and data plans for T-Mobile and AT&T.
The Morgan Stanley “AlphaWise” smartphone tracker compiles data using Google trends data, and has historically proven to be more accurate at forecasting iPhone sales than Wall Street’s consensus estimates.
