Older iPhones Cutting Into Apple Inc. (AAPL) iPhone 5 Sales

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While this data doesn’t necessarily mean that Apple’s iPhone 5 is a disappointment, it should tell investors that the company’s Q1 financials don’t depend as heavily on sales of its newest smartphone as most analysts originally thought. As AllThings D’s John Paczkowski put so ardently, “Apple is wisely expanding its addressable market […] [b]ut those lower-priced models will inevitably grow their share […] that might limit not only the number of full-priced iPhones Apple can sell, but revenue and profits, too.”

Interestingly, this report comes on the same day that Canaccord Genuity (via CNET) boosted its first quarter iPhone sales estimate by close to 5%, as the investment bank now expects Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) to sell 47.5 million of the devices by the end of the period. In essence, this may mean that although the tech giant’s ‘smartphone pie’ is becoming more diversified, it is still growing, which is most important from an investment standpoint. It’s worth noting that in the first quarter of 2012, Apple sold 37 million iPhones in total.

For those readers who are long AAPL: does this data change your opinion of the Cupertino-based company, or is it only more good news on the back of a potential special dividend that shareholders may see by Christmastime? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

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