Apple selling record 30 million iPhones in December quarter

UBS (Investment Firm) analyst Maynard Um now believes Apple will sell as many as 30 million iPhones in the December quarter, up from a previous estimate of 28 million. The firm changed its expectations for the iPhone sales because of AT&T's announcement that it expects its best smartphone quarter ever thanks to the iPhone 4S.

The firm didn’t change its predictions for the iPad. It still expects that Apple will sell 12 million units in the fourth quarter of 2012 and may achieve 13 million iPads because of seasonal boost during the holidays. UBS numbers are quite conservative due to its belief that "there might be a slight shift in consumer preference to the company's Macbook computers." Um said customers may not be able to buy multiple Apple products simultaneously and could instead elect to purchase larger ticket items with more functionality.

In light of the expected iPhone upside, UBS raised its revenue estimates to $38.5 billion, up from $37.2 billion. The firm now expects earnings per share to reach $9.90, compared to a previous projection of $9.47. For fiscal 2012, Um sees Apple bringing in $142.7 billion in revenue and $35.83 EPS.

Apple itself has said that it is confident that iPhone sales will reach an all-time high this quarter. As far as we remember, during the first weekend after the iPhone 4S launch Apple sold record four million units. As for the iPad, analysts predict that the iPad grown will be limited this quarter. Um's 12 million unit forecast remains on the lower end of estimates when compared with his colleagues' predictions: J.P. Morgan has dipped its projection from 13.3 million to 13.0 million, and Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu revised iPad estimates down from 15 million to 13.5 million.