iPhone Launch On China Mobile Might Add $10 Billion In Yearly Apple Revenue

Over the past few months there has been a lot of speculation about the launch of the new iPhones on China Mobile. The world’s largest mobile carrier, with over 700 million subscribers, has never officially carried the iPhones. Its rivals in the country, China Unicom and China Telecom, have been doing so for quite some time now. Both the carrier and Apple intend to launch iPhones, and according to an analyst, the launch might add $10 billion in additional yearly revenue for Apple, amounting to an increase of $3 earnings per share in Apple’s stock.

Amit Daryanani, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets, bases this prediction on the forecast of 17 million iPhones being sold on China Mobile. Average selling price is expected to be $560 per unit with an operating margin of 30 percent. Out of the roughly 755 million subscribers that China Mobile has, 170 million have subscribed to its 3G service. 17 million iPhones sales would mean that Apple will be able to penetrate into 10 percent of China Mobile’s high-speed data subscriber base. Daryanani predicts that this launch may end up increasing Apple’s market in China by 1.8 times, and as more subscribers get on the high-speed data bandwagon, the more growth in customers will be witnessed. China today issued commercial 4G licenses to carriers, including China Mobile, which means that its service can finally go live on December 18th as predicted.

Adnan Farooqui
Categories: Apple, Cellphones
Tags: china mobile, iPhone