Verizon Expected To Say Quarterly iPhone Sales Will Be Lower
July 1, 2011
Verizon Wireless, the largest wireless provider in the US, is expected to announce that their sales of the iPhone 4 dropped off in the second quarter. This is according to Jason Armstrong, a Goldman Sachs analyst. Armstrong told Bloomberg Businessweek “iPhone sales will likely be a touch below the 2.2 million" (sic).
Armstrong met on June 29, 2011 with investor relation’s executives from Verizon Communications group. Brenda Raney, a spokeswoman for New Jersey based Verizon Wireless declined to comment.
This drop in sales comes as no surprise and may be due to the pending launch of the next generation iPhone. When consumers learn about a launch of a new device, the current hardware version usually suffers. When customers are locked into a two-year contract, the wait for the new device may be worth holding out for.
Other smartphones, such as the 4G HTC Thunderbolt were above Verizon sales expectations during the second quarter, Armstrong says.
Android is still ahead in the smartphone sales race within the US market. However, according to Nielsen, Android sales are slowing down and the Apple iPhone is showing a 10 percent increase in sales so far in 2011. Android sales during this period remained flat, and showed no real increase.
It will be interesting to see if AT&T will have something similar to say about their second quarter iPhone sales. With no confirmed date for the next iPhone release, Apple seems to have a lot of influence on the consumer mindset and spending.
Sources: Bloomberg Businessweek, The Nielsen Company