Apple's iPhone Prices May Be Higher Than Anticipated, According To This Survey

While Apple Inc AAPL shareholders are on the edge of their seats in anticipation of iPhone 7 sales numbers, CLSA believes the market’s focus may be misguided.

Many Apple traders are watching iPhone unit numbers, but CLSA’s latest China survey reveals that iPhone 7 product mix could provide some surprise upside for the stock.

According to CLSA, China supply chain checks reveal that consensus average sales price (ASP) expectations of $655 could be extremely conservative. CLSA is calling for ASP of $691 in the December quarter, well above consensus.

“We believe consensus is overly fixated on the SE units at a lower ASP… but it seems to ignore rising mix of the Plus model,” the firm explains.

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While Wall Street is calling for a $36 year-over-year decline in iPhone ASP, CLSA is predicting a decline of only $5 due to the shifting product mix.

CLSA believes ASP, not unit sales, could be the driver of a December quarter revenue and EPS beat for Apple. The firm is calling for EPS of $3.36 on revenue of $75.8 billion, ahead of consensus estimates of $3.18/$74.4 billion.

It certainly doesn’t hurt that rival SAMSUNG ELECTRONIC SSNLF’s Note 7 phone has been a complete disaster.

Apple is expected to report Q3 earnings on October 25.