Coatue correctly predicted early iPhone sales but mistakenly modeled declining prices
Thomas Laffont · FULL INTERVIEW: Thomas Laffont’s Journey From Hollywood Assistant to Legendary Tech Investor · Apr 7, 2026 · at 23:05
Coatue co-founder Thomas Laffont reflects on building Coatue's initial Apple model and how consumer electronics historical assumptions led them to underestimate iPhone pricing power.
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“When I look back at our old Apple model, I actually think we did a pretty good job on units. Where we were way off is we had the price of the phone declining five to 10% a year, because that's what every consumer electronics product did. And in fact, the ARPU doubled, right? I think the first iPhone was like, 600, right? Unsubsidized. And 1200 easily.”
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