Just kidding. Apple teased its announcement with “Wish we could say more.” Everyone else had plenty to say and the speculation continued Friday with stories about ugly antennae on the iPhone 6, the addition of near-field communications (NFC) in the new iPhones and a new digital wallet.
The only things that really matter about the new iPhones are how much they cost and how many people buy them. Apple will want to keep its average selling price (ASP) for the new devices. In its latest quarterly report, Apple said the ASP for an iPhone was $561, down from $596 the previous quarter. The ASP for the iPhone will jump in the first quarter of Apple’s 2015 fiscal year (which ends in December), but how high?
It is worth noting that in each of the past two years the iPhone’s ASP has reached a peak at around $640 in Apple’s first fiscal quarter and then dropped steeply. What we should look for now is how far the company’s fourth quarter 2014 ASP falls. At the end of the third quarter it was at its lowest point of the past three years. Getting back to a peak of around $640 is already $80 away, and if the ASP drops much more the job may be impossible.
Apple’s shares traded at around $102.50 in the late morning on Friday on pretty light volume. The stock’s post-split range is $63.89 to $102.90.
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