Goldman: Apple's Leopard Delay the Right Move

Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) announcement that it will delay the introduction of its Leopard operating system to ensure iPhone's June launch remains on schedule could hurt in the near-term, but it's still the right call, according to Goldman analyst David C. Bailey.

"Although the push out of Leopard is not ideal, we view iPhone as the driver of the next leg to the Apple growth story," he said in a research note "and this announcement should abate recent concerns about any potential delay in the launch."

Apple said it will now ship Leopard in October, four months later than originally planned. The delay will cost the company $25 to $50 million in the June quarter and another $100 million in the September quarter, the analyst said, but, he added, the company should be able to recover the revenues in the December and March quarters.

As a result, he expects more conservative June-quarter targets and some short-term weakness in the shares.

In other words, the next few months should provide a 'buy' opportunity for Apple investors and he reiterated his US$110 price target for the stock.

Comments

[astefanovich:]

I think the IPhone is too hyped here. A more reliable story comes from an economist article:
www.economist.com/dail...;fsrc=nwl

2007 Apr 13 04:36 PM

[Sr. Pessimist:]

Better to delay than to disappoint.

2007 Apr 14 03:26 PM

[pseudo:]

Maybe there a lot of iPhone hype here, but that Economist article is nothing more than a sales pitch for yet another plastic button-based phone that touts its network as its biggest feature as opposed to the phone's own technology as ground breaking.

2007 Apr 14 03:45 PM