Here's an eyebrow-raiser for you: Apple's share price today is nearly 100 times higher than it was 10 years ago. And there's no question that the biggest catalyst powering that upward spiral has been the iPhone.
But no growth can continue forever (though Apple seems determined to disprove that), and a growing band of analysts is now saying the newly launched iPhone 5 represents the high-water mark in Apple's dizzying ascent.
That's what they say every year, you're no doubt thinking, though to be fair nobody would realistically have predicted Apple's run of success when the iPhone first came out in 2007.
Fast forward to 2012 and we have the now-familiar story of a new iPhone breaking every previous sales record in the book, with the company's share price having pushed past $700.
However, analyst David Goldman has told CNNMoney that the records we're seeing blasted out of the water by the iPhone 5 won't be topped again next year – in fact, they probably never will be.
“The iPhone 5 may be Apple’s last blowout US bestseller,” he predicts simply.
It's worth noting the reference specifically to the US market – as while the UK market is in a fairly similar position, nobody's predicting there's isn't still plenty of room to grow for Apple's smartphone colossus on a global level.
Still, why should we believe Apple's upward run in developed markets is coming to an end this time when so many similar rumours have been proved completely wrong in the past?
Well, aside from the obvious “it has to stop sometime” argument, there's the widely accepted reality that the rate of smartphone uptake is slowing down – a combination of market maturity and difficult economic conditions.
And with fewer first-time buyers coming on to the market as smartphone penetration tops out, there simply isn't room left for the iPhone to grow and it's expected that next year's iPhone launch could be the start of a decline.
None of this is necessarily bad news – when you reach the top, the only way is down, after all, and any protracted slowdown in the smartphone market isn't going to affect only Apple.
But it's safe to say the company's share price won't be another 100 times higher come this time in 2022.
Via BGR
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