Cantor: China 'Still Where The Money Is' For Apple Inc.

Selling smartphones in China is "still where the money is" for Apple Inc.

, an analyst said Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald's Brian J. White sees a revenue opportunity for Apple over the next five years in China of between $133 billion and $178 billion as mobile subscribers there increasingly switch to smartphones. Analysts on average expect Apple to post 2016 revenue of $231.88 billion. The China smartphone market contracted by 4 percent in the first quarter to 98.8 million units shipped, according to a report last month from IDC. http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prSG25614115 But White pointed to the same report, noting that Apple overtook rival Xiaomi as market leader in China for the first time. Apple's first-quarter market share in China jumped to 14.7 percent, from 8.7 percent a year ago. Xiaomi slipped to the second position because of competition in the low to mid-range segment of the market, IDC said. Apple is "better positioned than ever to benefit from a major upgrade cycle across the country," according to White, who maintains a Buy rating and $196 target on the company. WIthin five years, between 15 percent and 20 percent of China's wireless subscribers could become candidates for smarphones, according to White. Apple traded recently at $127.29, down $0.32 cents. The shares are nearly unchanged in the past three months.