With almost three weeks to go until Apple announces its quarterly earnings for its first quarter of fiscal year 2015 (ending in December 2014), analysts from UBS have revealed in a new note to investors seen by AppleInsider that the company may have sold significantly more iPhones during the period than expected, beating its own record and Wall Street’s estimates in the process.
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According to UBS, Apple may have sold 69.3 million combined iPhone units — the company had four models in stores during the period, including the iPhone 5c, the iPhone 5s, the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus — topping the Wall Street consensus of 65.5 million units for the three-month period.
If accurate, the number would also represent a massive 36% year-over-year growth in iPhone sales for the quarter, with Apple selling 18.3 million more iPhones during the period than it did in the Christmas 2013 quarter, when it shipped 51 million iPhones to buyers. Furthermore, UBS expects Apple to report $68 billion in revenue, or an impressive increase of more than $10 billion compared to last year’s reported $57.6 billion in revenue.
Of all regions monitored by UBS, China could account for the bulk of iPhone shipments — an estimated 35% of the total — significantly up from the 22% in the previous year, with iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus being the main drivers for the growth.
UBS has maintained a “buy” rating for Apple shares and slapped it with a price target of $125 for the next 12 months. Apple will unveil the official numbers for the first quarter of fiscal 2015 on January 27th.
