If The iPhone 8 Is Delayed, Will Anyone Care?

Courtesy of Benzinga.

If reports that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) won’t begin selling its new iPhone until December instead of September are true, will investors actually care? In short, the answer is no, at least according to Drexel Hamilton’s global head of technology Brian White.

It may be safe to assume at this point that the iPhone 8 launch will be delayed, White said as a guest on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” Thursday. After all, Apple is packing in a lot of new innovation and technology into the phone that the company has never used before, including 3D sensing.

As such, the phone’s delay will have some sort of impact if impatient customers chose not to hold out a few more months, White added. But the impact will most likely not be meaningful enough for investors to actually care and are “are looking through this” potential delay.

In fact, investors are likely better off focusing on the stock’s attractive valuation at a P/E multiple (excluding cash) of 11x, which is a discount to the broader S&P 500 index that trades at a 17x multiple. This discount may not continue forever, as there is an ongoing “re-evaluation” of what’s an appropriate multiple.

Specifically, Apple continues to prove to investors it’s not only “very durable” in sustaining market share and margins for its iPhone, but can capitalize on the growing middle class across the world.

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