In the middle of the important Christmas business, Apple is struggling with significant delivery bottlenecks for the new iPhone 14 Pro. Production at the main plant in China is currently being affected by Covid restrictions, Apple said on Monday night. The factory runs with significantly reduced emissions. This will mean longer waiting times for customers.
The plant of the Taiwanese contract manufacturer Foxconn in Zhengzhou is affected by the regional government’s corona lockdowns. The factory works at least partially, as some employees do not leave the premises. However, the restrictions could also interrupt the flow of components into the factory. Apple said it is working with the manufacturer to get production back to normal without endangering employee health.
Apple traditionally does its biggest business in the Christmas quarters – and even usually displaces Samsung from the top position in the smartphone market. Both the iPhone 14 Pro and the larger iPhone 14 Pro Max are affected by the bottlenecks, Apple said.
The models only came onto the market in September together with the iPhone 14. Among other things, Apple equipped the Pro versions this year with significantly better cameras than the basic models – and according to market researchers, they are correspondingly popular. The demand is unbroken, stressed Apple. The delivery problems should also affect the business figures.
In the 2021 Christmas business, Apple had another record quarter with a profit increase of more than 20 percent to $ 34.6 billion. Sales rose by around eleven percent to $123.9 billion, also a record. The iPhone group defied the global component bottlenecks that were slowing down the industry at the time. The iPhone was once again the biggest revenue generator with 71.6 billion dollars. Apple did not give a forecast for the current quarter, but analysts expected sales to increase.
British investment bank Barclays has left Apple’s “Equal Weight” rating, but has lowered its price target from $156 to $144.
DER AKTIONÄR remains convinced of Apple’s long-term prospects. However, the stock has recently corrected significantly and has now approached important supports: the October low of 2022 and the low for the year, which was marked in June of this year at $129.04. These should now definitely be defended if the chart technical picture is not to deteriorate any further.
(With material from dpa-AFX)
Notice of conflicts of interest: The CEO and majority owner of the publisher Börsenmedien AG, Mr. Bernd Förtsch, has taken direct and indirect positions on the following financial instruments mentioned in the publication or related derivatives that may benefit from any price development resulting from the publication: Apple.
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