For those of you still skeptical that Apple is gearing up for a blockbuster fall, check out this report from Morgan Stanley’s Katy Huberty. The analyst dug through its just-released 10-Q [1] filing, and she says it reveals a lot about its upcoming plans.
Huberty explains that the company’s significant increase in spending all-but-confirms that we’ll see some major new products this year. In fact, its quarter-over-quarter increase is the largest we’ve seen since it introduced the first iPhone in 2007…
Here’s the breakdown via BusinessInsider [2] . The increase is seen in Apple’s off-balance sheet commitments, which covers spending on stuff like manufacturing, parts, advertising, research and development, communications, Internet and other services.
Huberty says that Apple’s total commitments hit $21 billion at the end of its June quarter, which is up 46% year-over-year and 36% over the last quarter. Again, this is the highest sequential growth we’ve seen in Q3 since the original iPhone launch.
Additionally, history tells us that Apple’s off-balance sheet commitments have a 97% correlation with revenue growth. So when you see a spike in its spending, it’s usually followed by a spike in revenue. This too, suggests new products are coming.
So what are the new products? The consensus is that Apple is going to unveil a new smartwatch this fall, which would be its first entry into a major new market since the iPad in 2010. A significant iPhone refresh is also on the menu, as are new Macs [3] .
All of this is to say that we should be in for an exciting couple of months. The festivities are expected to begin in mid-September , with an iPhone press conference, and continue in October with a similar media event for the so-called iWatch. Stay tuned.
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