With mobile growing at a torrid rate, it’s certainly been a boon for shareholders of companies like Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Google (NASDAQ:GOOG). But what about IPOs? Might we see more of these deals in 2012?
It looks like a good bet. In fact, the past few weeks have seen some interesting filings. One is Audience, which develops technologies to improve the sound quality of mobile devices. And then there is the No. 2 mobile ad network, Millennial Media.
If you go through the prospectuses, you can get a good perspective on the major trends of the mobile market. So here are some that caught my eye:
Device Growth
“IDC estimates that the market for mobile devices, including smartphones, feature phones, media tablets and mobile PCs, will grow to 2.6 billion units by 2015. This market is undergoing rapid change, and IDC expects fast-growing segments such as smartphones and media tablets to have 2010 to 2015 unit compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) of 28% and 50%, respectively, driving growth and changing user expectations for mobile devices.”
3G and Wi-Fi
“According to Informa Telecoms & Media, a market research firm, worldwide 3G penetration approached 18% in 2011 and is expected to reach 50% by 2015.”
“Gartner forecasts that Wi-Fi enabled devices will grow from less than one billion units in 2010 to over three billion in 2015.”
Apps and Advertising
“Gartner forecasts that the total number of free and charged-for downloads from mobile application stores worldwide will increase from 17.7 billion in 2011 to over 108 billion in 2015.”
“Gartner estimates that worldwide mobile advertising revenue, excluding advertising delivered in connection with search requests and maps, will grow from $1.8 billion in 2011 to approximately $13.5 billion in 2015, reflecting a compounded annual growth rate of 65%.”
And Facebook
“According to industry research conducted by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, a venture capital firm, 33% of the traffic on Facebook came from mobile devices in 2011, up from 1% in 2008.”
Tom Taulli runs the InvestorPlace blog IPO Playbook, a site dedicated to the hottest news and rumors about initial public offerings. He also is the author of “All About Short Selling” and “All About Commodities.” Follow him on Twitter at @ttaulli. As of this writing, he did not own a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
