Analysts bullish that 5G and budget iPhones will give Apple very strong 2020

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Analysts from several market-analysis firms say the iPhone SE 2 will help propel the company to a strong year.
Render: OnLeaks/iGeeksBlog

Apple’s share price is more than double what it was this time last year. Cult of Mac asked prominent market-analysis firms to explain this meteoric rise. Several of them listed not just the upcoming debut of the 5G iPhone for investor optimism, but also the imminent launch of a budget model.

Analysts predict two waves of 2020 iPhones

When Jeff Fieldhack, Research Director at Counterpoint Research, was asked for reasons why Apple’s share price went up 100% in a year, he told Cult of Mac “We think there is already a very large, 5G upgrade expected in September baked into the stock price. Volumes in Q4 will be large and ASP’s extremely healthy due to 5G and other upgrades in the September launches.”

5G, a faster replacement for 4G LTE cellular wireless networking, is already appearing in handsets from rival companies. A 5G iPhone is universally expected this fall.

But that’s not into only 2020 iPhone Fieldhack is anticipating. “There is a highly rumored and expected LTE launch in the Spring that will help keep iPhone momentum and incremental revenues to push the company through to its 5G unveiling.”

Analysts at rival market-analysis firm Strategy Analytics agree about both waves of new models. A spokesperson told Cult of Mac that “This year we expect Apple will launch 5 new iPhone models, including the low cost iPhone SE2 in March/April, three new 5G iPhone models and one LTE iPhone model in Sep.”

The budget model both analysts spoke of is often referred to as the iPhone SE 2 or the iPhone 9 because the official name hasn’t leaked out. It’s expected to cost $399 and use a design similar to the iPhone 8 from 2017.

Apple is more than an iPhone maker

Another reason for Apple’s dramatic increase in share price, according to Strategy Analytics, is “the soaring service revenue (newly launched Apple TV and Apple Card etc.) and the solid performance of other non-smartphone products (such as Apple Watch and Airpods etc.).“

The analyst from Counterpoint Research agreed, and also pointed out technical reasons for the share-price increase. “Corporate tax breaks from the Trump administration brought in 40% less corporate tax revenues in 2019. Apple, like many others in the tech space, took advantage of these lower taxes and implemented more aggressive stock buybacks which elevated stock prices,” said Fieldhack.

None of the analysts Cult of Mac spoke with thought Apple’s rise in its share price is a bubble that will inevitably burst. In fact, Gene Munster from Loup Ventures told us there’s good reason to think Apple’s share price could rise another 50%.

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