Is Steve Jobs Back? Why He Just Gave You More Reasons To Buy Apple

He's not all the way back, at least not yet, but Steve Jobs is certainly not letting his health stop him from meeting with Chinese executives. According to AppleInsider via Reuters, the legendary tech CEO has met with China Mobile CHL executives "several times" to bring the world's most iconic phone to the world's largest mobile carrier. I don't know about you, but if I was not feeling up to it, meeting with executives from another company about bringing my iconic product there would not be at the top of my list. That's why Tim Cook is there. Cook took over for Jobs as acting CEO earlier this year when Jobs announced he had to take another medical leave of absence for his health. In Jobs' place, Cook has done a wonderful job and should be applauded for his efforts. Jobs took a leave of absence a few years ago after it was revealed he had pancreatic cancer. He ultimately received a transplant and returned back to Apple AAPL, only to leave again earlier this year. It seems as if the news that came out of China Mobile's earnings call was unexpected. There were pictures, and reports that Cook was handling the negotiations with China Mobile when it came to bringing the iPhone legally to China. China Mobile already has 7.44 million iPhones on its network, despite it not having a deal with Apple. These phones are technically not supposed to be on the network, as the two companies do not have a deal. China Mobile uses its 3G mobile network based on its TDSCDMA standard, which Apple currently does not support. As such, the iPhone users on China Mobile's network can not access 3G. With reports that Cook has met with China Mobile, and now the news that Jobs has met several times, we are getting closer and closer to a legal China Mobile iPhone. As such, earnings estimates and revenue expectations for Apple may be way too low. With over 600 million subscribers, China Mobile presents an opportunity for Apple that nowhere else in the world can provide. When news hit weeks ago that Cook was meeting with China Mobile execs, Brian White with Ticonderoga Securities was very positive on the smartphone market in China and what it meant for Apple. He said that the the high end phone market for smartphones in China is 100-125 million subscribers, which would translate to potentially $70 billion in revenues. "The numbers speak for themselves," he said in a note to investors. "For example, Apple generated approximately $5 billion in revenue from Greater China during (the first half of fiscal 2011) or 10% of sales compared to $3 billion for all of (fiscal year 2010)." "Traveling to China is a major undertaking and we doubt Tim Cook would be visiting China Mobile unless the two companies were getting close to a partnership," White said. "Essentially, we believe the data points in recent months foreshadow an accelerated relationship between the two companies and we are inclined to believe that an announcement is imminent over the next several months." With Jobs meeting with China Mobile execs, all we are waiting for now is the announcement of an agreement between the two companies. Many are expecting a deal by the end of October. This is a massive move for Apple, as China is becoming increasingly important to Apple. Revenues from the four Apple stores in China, and the surrounding areas, including Hong Kong and Taiwan, quadrupled to around $5 billion for the six months ended March 26. Jobs may not be all the way back, but meeting with company executives is a strong positive sign that the greatest salesmen of the 21st century is closer to getting back to work than not. If this does indeed turn out to be true, let me be the first to say, "Welcome back Steve, we've missed you." ACTION ITEMS:

Bullish:
Traders who believe that China Mobile will get the iPhone might want to consider the following trades:

• Go long Apple and go long hard. Even if 5% of China Mobile's subscribers get the iPhone, that's another 30 million phones. That's a lot of untapped potential revenue.

• Also consider parts suppliers, such as ARM Holdings ARMH, Qualcomm QCOM and Cirrus Logic CRUS.

Bearish:
This is bearish for the other Chinese carriers, such as China Telecom CHA, which could see losses in subscribers as the world's largest carrier gets the world's most iconic phone.

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