Verizon announced its March quarter results Thursday morning that included 4 million iPhone activations out of 7.2 million smartphones. While it was essentially one number and input to how many iPhone’s
CJ Takeaway #1: I am estimating Apple sold 37 million iPhones in the March quarter which would be a 23% decline quarter over quarter (47.8 million sold in the December quarter) and a 6% increase year over year (35.1 million a year ago). Verizon’s iPhone activations were down 35% quarter over quarter (bearish) but up 25% year over year (bullish).
| Apple | Sept '11 | Dec '11 | Mar. '12 | June '12 | Sept. '12 | Dec. '12 | Mar. '13 |
| iPhones (mil. units) | 17.1 | 37.0 | 35.1 | 26.0 | 26.9 | 47.8 | 37.0 |
| Q/Q % | (16)% | 117% | (5)% | (26)% | 3% | 78% | (23)% |
| Y/Y % | 89% | 28% | 57% | 29% | 6% |
Source: Company reports
| Verizon | Sept '11 | Dec '11 | Mar. '12 | June '12 | Sept. '12 | Dec. '12 | Mar. '13 |
| Smartphones (mil. units) | 5.6 | 7.7 | 6.3 | 5.9 | 6.8 | 9.8 | 7.2 |
| iPhones (mil. units) | 2.0 | 4.2 | 3.2 | 2.7 | 3.1 | 6.2 | 4.0 |
| % of Apple | 11.7% | 11.3% | 9.1% | 10.4% | 11.5% | 13.0% | 10.8% |
| Q/Q % | (13)% | 110% | (24)% | (16)% | 15% | 100% | (35)% |
| Y/Y % | 45% | 17% | 55% | 48% | 25% |
Source: Company reports
CJ Takeaway #2: Sales in China will effect Apple’s sales more than Verizon or the other U.S. carriers. The iPhone 4S didn’t become available until the March 2012 quarter (so there was big demand which helped the March 2012 sales) vs. the iPhone 5 going on sale in the December quarter (which helped December 2012 sales but pulled in demand from the March 2013 quarter).
CJ Takeaway #3: Overall Verizon’s results don’t have an impact to my 37 million iPhone unit estimate.
Disclosure: My family and I own Apple shares
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