Apple iPhone 15 Deals Are Out. What They Mean for Wireless Stocks.

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Wireless service providers love it

T Mobile
,

Verizon
,

And

AT&T

They are taking orders.

Apple

iPhone 15 ahead of the device’s Friday release. Although the deals themselves are difficult to analyze, there are “very rich” promotions for consumers, Moffett Nathanson analysts said.

Craig Moffett, founder of Moffett Nathanson, wrote in a note on Monday that this year’s iPhone promotion is the richest ever. The three biggest carriers are reportedly offering free iPhone 15 Pro devices or up to $1,000 off, though the discounts vary by carrier and whether you’re paying for a new or premium rate plan.

“Overall, promotions from the big three new iPhones have been aggressive, but no more meaningful than last year’s,” he wrote.

MoffettNathanson has market performance ratings on the three largest wireless carriers. Their price target

AT&T

(Ticket: T) is $17. It is for 40 dollars

Verizon

(VZ) have a price target of $172.

T Mobile

stock (TMUS). AT&T stock fell 1% to $15.08 on Monday. Verizon stock fell 0.8% to $33.53. T-Mobile stock fell 0.8% to $140.81.

Using data from mobile phone price data firm Navi, Moffett said average promotional prices were about the same as last year. One notable difference is that AT&T is offering generally higher promotional rates to both new customers and those who upgrade their existing devices from last year. Verizon’s promotional rates are higher for transfers to Verizon, but lower for upgrades.

“We have consistently expressed concern about the level of promotion in the wireless industry, particularly in light of what we believe to be a slowing industry growth,” Moffett said. “This year’s promotions will certainly do nothing to reduce the industry’s popularity. But at least there is a silver lining here to keep things from getting worse.

T-Mobile is offering promotional prices for switches and upgrades that are 9% lower than last year. He thinks that’s intuitive because it speaks to increasing confidence and clients without having to give too much away. On the flip side, AT&T thinks the opposite is true when it offers an 8% higher promotion on switches and upgrades.

Moffett added cable companies with wireless businesses like Charter ( CHTR ) and others

Comcast

‘s (CMCSA) Xfinity Mobile and Charter are the worst of the big three carriers, but are still offering discounts. MoffettNathanson assigned Charter to Outperform with a $665 price target. With a $47 price target, he rates Comcast as Outperform.

“Cable’s promotional offers are still lower than those offered by Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile (despite their lower monthly service plan prices),” Moffett wrote. “The Big Three will reap at least some share, leaving a reduced overall pool of growth for the Big Three during their time.”

b

Apple
,

Citi Research analyst Michael Rollins wrote Monday that he doesn’t expect the promotions to derail the historic iPhone launch season or the latest trend in the market. Apple shares rose 1.7% to $177.97 on Monday.

Write to Connor Smith at [email protected]