Apple reports record demand for iPhone 6 as share price levels
After what must have seemed an interminable wait for the Apple fangirls and boys, the pre-order drama was over in hours.
Apple says that pre-orders of the largest of its two new handsets, the iPhone 6 plus, broke records; selling out quickly and crashing websites.
With iPhones roaring off the shelves, it would perhaps seem logical that Apple's share price would do the same after a launch. It is true that Apple has had a relatively strong year financially, and that it has out performed the Nasdaq, as this chart shows.
Compared to other years however, the shares aren't following the sales. Of course investors know that Apple's shares often jump and drop around iPhone time and this probably affects behaviour.
When we index the last three launches (starting 27 days before the announcement to give us 31 days trading in total) we can see this year's share price movements in context:
The dates are only rough and based on the 2013 launch. If you use number of days on the bottom axis, it just makes a mess.
So what can we expect? It would be wrong to use past data to make a real estimate; there are too many variables and not enough of a sample to be certain. Looking at the last two iPhone launches however, it's clear that the share price fluctuates and ends up above where it started. It remains to be seen what this year's price will do.
The graph stops in early October because at the beginning of November is iPad time.
What ever happens to the share price Apple will be happy: the iPhone is the most important factor in Apple's maintaining its margins, and it seems sales this year have outstripped those of last year.
The iPad's popularity may be waning, but early next year the giant will likely see a boost from the imaginatively named Apple watch. Stay tuned.