DJ Apple iPhone 12 Sales Will Stay Strong, Analyst Says -- Barrons.com
By Eric J. Savitz
Apple's supply chain remains on track to produce between 56 million and 62 million iPhones in the March quarter, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives writes in a research note Monday. Ives adds that he continues to expect June quarter production in the mid-40 million unit range.
Ives has long been a proponent of the Apple "supercycle" theory, that the debut of the iPhone 12 would support a long period of strong sales, and he continues to pound the table on that idea.
"We have not seen a robust launch uptrend such as this in a number of years for Apple," he writes, asserting that the only comparable launch was the iPhone 6 in 2014. Ives notes that while the Street consensus continues to call for Apple (AAPL) to produce about 220 million iPhones in the September 2021 fiscal year, he thinks there is a bull case that the number could be as high as 250 million. (Note that Apple reports revenue by product line, but not unit volumes.)
Ives also repeated his view that Apple is on track for a late September launch for the iPhone 13 -- he says the debut is scheduled for the third week of September, but could slip into early October. He reiterated his previous projection for initial iPhone 13 builds of about 100 million units, up from the initial 80 million unit production for the iPhone 12.
Apple shares on Monday are up 2.1%, to $122.55. The stock is down about 8% year to date after an 81% rally in 2020.
Write to Eric J. Savitz at eric.savitz@barrons.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 22, 2021 11:46 ET (15:46 GMT)
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