Hey Mac, can you spare a dime?
Of course not everything is coming up roses for Apple; Mac sales continue to slide. But even that’s not completely unexpected considering the growth the iPad has achieved (see note above about cannibalization), particularly because of the growth opportunity the tablet market represents.
Analysts continue to expect tablets to surpass PC sales sooner rather than later. Researchers at Canalys says PC market share will tumble to 65% in 2013, down from 72% last year, and within three years tablets will surpass the PC as they grow on a compounded annual basis of 35% a year, hitting 384 million units.
Whereas the old dynamic used to be Windows versus iOS, now it will be Apple’s OS against Android. Certainly on the smartphone platform Google’s operating system dominates, with 71% share expected this year, but that will be peak. It’s anticipated Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY)‘s new phones will claw back some share and move above the 5% share it currently holds (even with the new BB10 on the market) and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is expected to pull a few percentage points more with its Windows Phone 8 system.
Yet in the PC market, it’s Apple’s to lose, and it’s not giving up its grip. Canalys also found that it had more than 20% of the market for the first time ever, eclipsing both Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ) and Lenovo, both of which had just an 11% share. Samsung and Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) rounded out the top five.
More than one lever to pull
The combined strength of Android devices is definitely a challenge to Apple and iOS, but so long as it’s able to avoid supply issues like those it experienced in the fourth quarter, it should once again own more than half of the tablet market itself.
As an Apple shareholder nursing the long slide in its stock, it’s easy to expect it to continue to go lower because of Wall Street’s constant drumbeat of negativity. Yet I see that as opportunity because it means the consumer products specialist will only surprise the market going forward, leading to large spikes higher. I don’t plan on selling my Apple stock anytime soon, but you can let me know in the comments box below whether you agree Apple has what it takes to not only stay above $400 a share, but regain the $500 or $600 level in the near future.
The article Is Apple Still Worth More Than $400? originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Rich Duprey.
Fool contributor Rich Duprey owns shares of Apple. The Motley Fool recommends Apple and Google. The Motley Fool owns shares of Apple, Google, and Microsoft.
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