Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) could increase its annual revenue in India to $20 billion by 2025, according to Wedbush analysts who have an Outperform rating on the stock and a $205 price target.
“This week marks a significant strategic move for Cupertino, as Cook will cut the red ribbon on the first retail stores in India this week in Mumbai and New Delhi,” they explained.
Analysts noted that the tech giant’s retail strategy will be centered on acquiring new customers while “importantly converting Samsung/Xiaomi/Vivo/OPPO customers into Apple iPhone customers over time”
The analysts stated, “While Apple’s current market share in India is less than 10%, we believe that the company’s unrivaled marketing and brand presence will enable it to turn India into an incremental growth catalyst when the anniversary iPhone 15 hits the market in September.”
In light of the COVID restrictions in China, Apple is also considering India as a production location for iPhones.
Ives continued, “As Foxconn/Apple put more skin in the game on the iPhone production front in India, this will go hand-in-hand with a larger retail presence in India, as witnessed this week, which mirrors the early days of the China penetration strategy a decade ago.”
“Apple has tangentially pursued the India market for years with some success, despite the fact that India revenue is only about $6 billion (less than 2% of global revenue) and the company has negligible presence in the country. This dynamic will change as Apple aggressively pursues production and retail expansion in India over the coming years. We believe this will be a strategic poker play by Cupertino that could increase India’s annual revenue to $20 billion by 2025.