Are Apple’s Best Days Behind It?

January 18, 2013 by Douglas A. McIntyre

Apple Maps
Source: Thinkstock
Another group of experts has made the case that Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) best days are behind it. ABI Research says that Apple’s share of the smartphone market worldwide will peak this year at 22% and stay at that level through 2018, as though any estimate could be accurate that many years out.

According to the research operation:

Smartphone shipments will account for 50% of all handset shipments by 2014 and become the largest handset segment in the world, according to the latest market forecasts by market intelligence firm ABI Research. By 2018, 2.4 billion handset shipments with smartphones will account for 69% of all handset shipments. LTE handsets will account for 35% of all handset shipments and 50% of smartphone shipments in 2018.

“Barring an unlikely collapse in Samsung’s business, even Apple will be chasing Samsung’s technology, software, and device leadership in 2013 through the foreseeable future,” says senior analyst Michael Morgan.

Shares of Apple are down fractionally in premarket trading, to $502.00 in a 52-week trading range of $419.55 to $705.07.

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