Apple Watch: Henry Blodget just doesn't get it

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You may not have gotten your hands on an Apple Watch yet, but IHS Technology did and broke down the costs of making it. And the numbers look pretty good if you're an investor.

IHS says parts and labor for the new Apple Watch total just about $83.70. That’s about 24 percent of its purchase price. The lowest cost watch—the Apple Watch Sport—retails for $349.

The IHS breakdown doesn’t include logistics, intellectual property and research and development involved because it was a brand new product. But even so, margins on the watch appear promising for Apple investors if Apple (AAPL) sells a lot of watches.

“One of the big bullish arguments about the watch is exactly that that it’s incredibly profitable,” says Henry Blodget who has a position in Apple.  “If this analysis is correct and there aren’t some huge hidden costs somewhere else and Apple sells a whole bunch of these things…boy, a lot of that could drop to the bottom line.”

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Quite a few "if's."  And some of the early chatter about the new product is that people aren’t loving the watch...yet. Venture Capitalist Chris Dixon tweeted that the using the Apple Watch was a “Microsoft-esque" experience.  "Going to have to read the manual," he tweeted.

Blodget had a similar reaction after trying it on. “I just don’t get it," he says.  "This is an expensive piece of equipment. It is not a Rolex. It does not confer the same status on you.”

But still, Blodget is holding onto his shares of Apple. "There was immense pent up demand because Apple was two years late with the big screen.  Samsung ate its lunch. Then Apple finally came out with [the iphone 6] and then, boom, two huge quarters of playing catch up," he says, "The question is what happens now?”

What could happen is the Android "ecosystem" could weaken further and Apple could gain more share.  But Blodget says, "I think still we’re going to be in a long flat period...And I do think there is downside risk. But I am still on-board."



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