Apple's Cloaking of Apple Watch Sales Figures Sends Wrong Message, Says Researcher
Apple’s “obfuscating” the sales figures for the Apple Watch on its earnings call last week (see 1507220052) sent the wrong message, said Juniper Research in a note Friday estimating Apple has sold between 2 and 2.5 million watches since the…
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April launch. By not announcing sales figures, Apple gave the appearance of cloaking “disappointing sales, which is the message investors seemingly took away from the earnings call, with shares falling by 7 percent despite a 35 percent [year-over-year] increase in iPhone sales," Juniper said. The research firm based the range on the variance in pricing of different Watch models and on comparisons with other product launches that Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri cited on the earnings call. Maestri said the Watch has sold more than the first iPhone or the iPad in a comparable period, which Juniper pegged at 87 days, and the first iPad sold 2 million units in 60 days, it said. “Given the above, we can assume there have been more than 2 million Watch sales so far,” said Juniper, but how many more depends on how much revenue shifted from Apple TV, Beats Electronics, iPod and accessories to the Watch -- all part of the Other Products category. Other Products was on a $200 million year-on-year decline before the Watch launch, Maestri said. Sales between 2 million and 2.5 million would make the Apple Watch the most successful smartwatch launch to date, said Juniper, “with no other launches coming close in a comparable time period.” Juniper also said there’s no other smartwatch on the market that can ship comparable volume to that of Apple Watch. The Moto360 comes closest, said Juniper, “but even that failed to sell more than 1 million in the first 9 months,” it said. “Displaying the success of the Watch in stark figures would have allayed investor concerns and given Apple more credibility in a new space where it is the clear leader.,” it said. An Apple spokesman told us he couldn't comment on Apple Watch sales numbers beyond what executives said on the earnings call.