iPhone 7 Sells Out Preorders – Investors Rejoice

Apple has its iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus launch to thank for a run-up in shares of the technology giant.

While many may have yawned or shrugged at the iPhone 7 announcement event, consumers are apparently far from indifferent.

Apple is confirming this morning that the latest iPhone iteration has sold out in all colors in pre-order. The brand new jet black shade of the smaller iPhone 7 has also sold out around the world.

Investors are pleased with the increasingly powerful possibility of strong sales out of the gate — and the latest news is expected to further push Apple stock price.

Shares of Apple have been trading 8 percent higher since last Friday (Sept. 9), with Seeking Alpha saying the stock has hit the highest share price it’s seen in the past five months. There have also been encouraging announcements from all quarters.

Both T-Mobile and Sprint announced pre-orders of the devices are easily surpassing pre-orders in the same timeframe a year earlier, with both saying demand has far exceeded the response to previous iPhone launches.

Sprint said Tuesday (Sept. 13) that pre-orders for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are more than 375 percent higher in the first three days compared to last year. What’s more, the company said, since it started accepting pre-orders on Sept. 9, new and existing customers have placed orders for both iPhone 7 models at a rate that is close to four times greater than the same period last year. It doesn’t hurt that Samsung Electronics’ problems with the Galaxy Note 7, which is being recalled because the battery can catch on fire, has resulted in more demand for Apple products.

This is all a welcome change for Apple since at the end of August, most Apple followers were focused on the Irish tax issue. The European Commission ordered Ireland to collect €13 billion ($14.5 billion) in unpaid taxes from Apple. Both Apple and Ireland will appeal. There has been some movement internationally and by the EU to stop multinational companies from avoiding taxes by offshoring, and this could irritate relations between the U.S. and the EU. This recent decision regarding Apple features the highest sum ever demanded from a company based on the EU’s rules that forbid companies from gaining an advantage from government assistance.