iPhone 5 Release to Boost Fourth-Quarter GDP
Economists are estimating that sales of the new iPhone 5 could add up to half a percentage point to the fourth-quarter GDP.
Economists are estimating that sales of the new iPhone 5 could add up to half a percentage point to the fourth-quarter GDP.
Michael Feroli from JP Morgan, said that based on predictions that Apple will sell 8 million iPhone 5s on the first weekend, there would be an estimated $3.2 billion boost to the fourth-quarter GDP. According to Feroli, each sale of an iPhone 5 adds about $400 to the GDP.
Feroli thinks that the boost to GDP will be somewhere between 0.25-0.5%, a significant increase as the fourth-quarter GDP is currently estimated to be somewhere from 1.5 – 2%.
A similar lift occurred last year when the iPhone 4 was released and sales estimates are higher for the new phone.
Some analysts are going even further and claim that Feroli’s calculation is understating the economic boost.
Darrel West from the Brookings Institution’s said that the release will lead to further innovation in the form of apps from developers.
West said that “There are a large number of people developing apps for the iPhone that are producing great advances in education and health care communications and commerce.” He went on to say that Feroli only considered the direct value of the iPhone and not the “multiplier effect” of the release.
