“A decline in smartphone sales at Verizon Wireless and AT&T is the primary culprit for iPhone sales that some on Wall Street have deemed disappointing,” Roger Cheng reports for CNET.
“That’s according to Raymond James analyst Tavis McCourt, who calculated that 80 percent of the shortfall could be attributed to the two larger carriers, which sell the iPhone,” Cheng reports. “Verizon and AT&T no longer break out iPhone sales, so it’s difficult to figure out exactly how many were sold in the fourth quarter. When factoring his projections for growth, McCourt said that AT&T and Verizon likely accounted for 4 million of his estimated 5 million shortfall in iPhone sales.”
“There are a few reasons behind the lower sales, including a stricter stance from both carriers in allowing phone upgrades, with Verizon in particular extending the period before a customer can upgrade to 24 months. In general, both saw slowing growth in new customers,” Cheng reports. “McCourt said that he expects further declining sales in the US through the March quarter before things stabilize.”
Read more in the full article here.