Apple's iPhone Market Share Increases per Kantar Report

Per Kantar Group, Apple Inc.'s AAPL iPhone has gained significant market share in the U.S., Japan, Germany and Great Britain.

Kantar is a market research firm, which releases its smartphone survey data on a monthly basis based on a three-month rolling average. Per the latest survey report, Apple's iPhone share in the U.S. increased from 32.6% in September to 41.5% in October.

 It increased almost 17% in Japan to 48% in Oct 2014. In Germany, its market share was up from 11.8% in September to 16.9% in October. In Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) Apple's iPhone share increased 8.5% from 31% in September to 39.5% in October.

However, it was not that lucky in China and the European Union EU where its market share declined.

We believe that increasing market share is a major positive for Apple as iPhone happens to the prime revenue-earning product of the company. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014, iPhones alone accounted for 56.3% of Apple's total revenues.

Separately, Apple was sued for having deleted music which some iPod owners had downloaded from its rival's services and $350 million claimed as damages from the iPhone-maker. However, Apple stated that the iTunes update responsible for the aforesaid deletion was intended to the system against hacking.

The charges, if proved, would adversely impact Apple's reputation. But mostly, such lawsuits are settled out of court for a significant compensation, which again would dent its coffers.

Meanwhile, Apple earned a patent for techniques to minimize the beatings electronic devices take from crash landings. We believe that this patent would enable Apple to develop an indestructible iPhone going forward.

Moreover, we believe that Apple's loyal customer base and innovative product pipeline are major positives. Moreover, the company's entry into various new spheres such as health care, automobiles and others will boost top-line growth in 2014 and beyond. However, stiff competition from the likes of Samsung, Hewlett-Packard HPQ, Microsoft MSFT, AMZN AMZN and Dell remains a headwind.

Currently, Apple sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).