Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) sold 18M iPhone 12 units in the China market in Q4, exceeding expectations and achieving over 20% market share, DigiTimes reports.
The impressive Q4 sales dented the market share numbers for Huawei, Kiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo, which accounted for more than 90% of China’s smartphone market before the iPhone series launch. In Q4, their combined share fell to ~78%, according to the DigiTimes report.
Momentum is seen continuing through the Lunar New Year holiday, bringing Q1 2021 volumes level with Q4 2022 shipments, MacRumors reports.
Apple (AAPL, -0.3%) has plenty to prove when it comes to its plans for a self-driving car, while Tesla (TSLA, +6%) moves ahead to what could be control of the United States market, analysts at ARK Investment Management say.
Apple hasn’t shown “any significant development progress,” ARK analyst Tasha Keeney said on a webinar, adding they expect “natural geographic monopolies” to emerge, which would make coming from behind a disadvantage.
“Apple has entered markets well after someone else has established them and run away with the market,” ARK CEO Cathie Wood noted. But “Tesla took a leaf out of Apple’s book when it developed its own chip for autonomous vehicles.”
Tesla is now coming up on 20B real-world miles driven for autopilot while Google is around 20-50M, Wood adds.
One bright spot in Apple’s plans is that the company put its head of AI in charge of the project, which was a good move, Keeney says.
“This is an AI game .. the problem is (Apple) just did it,” Wood says. “They are way behind.”
Tesla is the biggest holding in the ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK, +2%).
Last week Morgan Stanley laid out its case for the risk to Tesla from an Apple Car.
Newly-public DoorDash (DASH, +12%) is adding to its rally yesterday, pushing the stock closer to it’s all-time closing high from its December debut.
The stock is up 20% this week alone and up nearly 34% from its recent low last Wednesday.
The stock rallied yesterday on speculation it would be launching in Japan.
The analyst quiet period for the food delivery company ended last week and Needham was the most bullish on shares, with a price target of $200.
Seeking Alpha contributor Samuel Smith laid out his very bearish case shortly after the IPO.
“We prefer to invest in tangible cash flow today rather than speculate that an unprofitable company with razor-thin margins and no moat can continue to grow at 30%+ per year for the next decade while simultaneously doubling its profit margins despite losing its main demand driver in the next twelve months.”
