App Store Data Suggests Healthy Revenue Trends For Apple

Nomura's Sensor Tower data for Apple Inc. AAPL's app store shows “very healthy growth in iOS downloads and revenue trends,” analysts Jeffrey Kvaal and Gregory McNiff said in a report issued Wednesday.

While the ongoing quarter and the upcoming one might bring some disappointing iPhone figures, early data for the first quarter of fiscal 2017 has suggested year-over-year growth could return. Nomura's thesis still points toward iOS subscriber growth driving a 5-10 percent iPhone unit growth rate in 2017.

Related Link: Analyst: Estimates For Apple's Q4, FY17 'Remain Too High'

Over the third fiscal quarter, Apple saw TTM iOS downloads surge 11 percent, outperforming Alphabet Inc GOOGL GOOG’s Android, Kvaal and McNiff pointed out. Top English language apps saw a 22 percent increase, and except for Spotify, they were all games. From this data, the analysts infer the iOS subscriber base of more than 500 million “continues to grow at a healthy, if not robust, pace.”

TTM iOS app revenues are up 66 percent, the report continued. With the App Store considered to be the largest of several contributors to the growth of Apple’s Services unit, the firm’s estimate of 20 percent growth becomes more visible.

Nomura maintains a Buy rating and $120 target price on shares of Apple.

Disclosure: The author holds no interest in any of the securities or entities mentioned above.