Friday, October 2, 2009
Morgan Stanley: iPhone Market Share Would Double Without Exclusivity
Add Morgan Stanley’s Kathryn Huberty to the list of analysts calling for Apple to broaden the iPhone’s distribution by ending carrier exclusivity deals. In a research note issued this morning, Huberty–noting that the iPhone’s market share grew 136 percent in France when Apple switched to multicarrier agreements there–said iPhone sales could more than double if the company took a similar tack in other countries.
Apple has $29 billion in cash, no debt, a 36 percent gross margin, and it’s on the cusp of another iPhone ugrade cycle. Little wonder, then, that analysts are raising their target prices on the company’s stock. Among those doing so today: Morgan Stanley’s Kathryn Huberty, who says “Apple is emerging as the clear leader in the battle over the mobile Internet.”
Riddle for you: What’s larger than the gross domestic product of Sri Lanka, Lebanon or Bulgaria, and when divided by 186,000, more than four times higher than the median U.S. household income in 2006? If you guessed the $39 billion in bonuses Wall Street’s five largest banks doled out in 2007, you’re right!
Six months ago, the nation had five independent investment banks. That number soon dwindled to four. And then to three. And by last week’s end, only two investment banks remained. Now those two are gone as well. The Federal Reserve Board hammered the final nail in the coffin of independent investment banks Sunday evening, allowing Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs to become traditional bank holding companies.
Next year is shaping up to be Apple’s (AAPL) best financial year ever–and we’re not even out of 2008 yet. Last week Piper Jaffray (PJC) analyst Gene Munster said the company’s new App Store could end up generating $1.21 billion in revenue. And now Morgan Stanley (MS) is predicting Apple will sell 27 million iPhones in 2009. 
