After months of anticipation, hype and skepticism, the Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone X is officially here. Customers who preordered the iPhone X will begin receiving their devices on Friday, and Apple investors are optimistic that the iPhone X will propel Apple stock to the next level.
Apple deviated from its typical iPhone release schedule this year, launching two new models within weeks of each other. The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus went on sale on Sept. 21, and the higher-cost 10-year anniversary iPhone X came out roughly six weeks later.
The iPhone X features animated emojis, facial recognition technology and a larger OLED screen. The high-tech features come at a steep price, however. Apple’s website lists the starting price of the iPhone X at $999.
On Apple’s fiscal fourth-quarter earnings call Thursday afternoon, CEO Tim Cook said iPhone X demand has been very strong. Apple beat consensus expectations for fourth-quarter earnings per share and revenue, but investors are most excited about Apple’s impressive first-quarter guidance. Apple expects revenue in the $84 billion to $87 billion range compared to consensus estimates of $84.9 billion.
“You can see by our guidance, we’re very bullish,” Cook said. He also said Apple “could not provide such strong revenue guidance if we didn’t have strong iPhone X demand.”
The market liked what Cook had to say about the iPhone X. Apple stock is up 2.7 percent on Friday morning.
Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty says there’s even more upside ahead.
“We see iPhone X unlocking pent-up iPhone upgrades, especially in China, driving 20 percent-plus iPhone unit growth and revenue and EPS of 15 to 16 percent above consensus in [fiscal 2018],” Huberty says. “Our bottom-up iPhone unit forecast by region points to 268 million iPhone shipments in 2018, ahead of consensus forecast of 242 million.”
Loup Ventures analyst Gene Munster says the iPhone X will likely exceed expectations.
“The iPhone X is of course the product that will make or break shares of AAPL over the next year,” Munster says. “We believe…
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