Analysts have been expecting this fall’s iPhone 8 to prompt a so-called ‘super cycle’ for weeks, and now Credit Suisse is the latest to push that expectation. Analyst Kulbinder Garcha at the firm cites ‘pent up demand’ from the iPhone installed base for a very different model than recent hardware updates.
For that reason, Garcha has been telling investors to buy AAPL as the firm believes the stock price is currently undervalued. Earlier this month, Credit Suisse further raised its AAPL target price up to $170, citing services in part as a major opportunity for growth from the company.
Garcha continues to tell investors that both iPhone 8 demand and Apple’s services business will be a source for growth (via CNBC):
“We continue to highlight a degree of pent up demand from iPhone installed base ahead of the major iPhone 8 super cycle as well as continued strong mix shift towards services.”
Other firms including Citi have similarly cited an upcoming super cycle of upgrades prompted by the new iPhone later this year when upgrading AAPL’s target price.
While initial year-over-year iPhone sales certainly were not hurt from the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus launch, new data from CIRP earlier this week suggested Apple has missed out on upgrades from legacy iPhone users by not dramatically changing the external design of the new models.
Not everyone loves the idea of the iPhone super cycle, however, as CNBC’s Jim Cramer has warned that the term could create inflated expectations that lead to a large selloff after Apple delivers new hardware later this year.
One more thing that could lead to pent up demand? Shipping the radically different model later than the September time frame. Since the iPhone 5 in 2012, Apple has released new models in September, but some reports have recently claimed the OLED, edge-to-edge display model with new camera features may not ship until later in the year.
Read our full iPhone 8 guide for all the rumors and news.
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