WSJ: Apple slashes production orders for all three new iPhone models

“Lower-than-expected demand for Apple Inc.’s new iPhones and the company’s decision to offer more models have created turmoil along its supply chain and made it harder to predict the number of components and handsets it needs, people familiar with the situation say,” Yoko Kubota, Takashi Mochizuki, and Tripp Mickle report for The Wall Street Journal. “In recent weeks, Apple slashed production orders for all three iPhone models that it unveiled in September, these people said, frustrating executives at Apple suppliers as well as workers who assemble the handsets and their components.”
“Forecasts have been especially problematic in the case of the iPhone XR. Around late October, Apple slashed its production plan by up to a third of the approximately 70 million units it had asked some suppliers to produce between September and February, people familiar with the matter said,” Kubota, Mochizuki, and Mickle report. “And in the past week, Apple told several suppliers that it cut its production plan again for the iPhone XR, some of the people said Monday, as Apple battles a maturing smartphone market and stiff competition from Chinese producers.”
Kubota, Mochizuki, and Mickle report, “During an interview earlier this year with The Wall Street Journal, Apple Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri said that trying to determine demand for its devices based on reports by its suppliers can be misleading because the suppliers also make products for competitors.”
MacDailyNews Take: But, we three stooges here at The Wall Street Journal will ignore that advice and do it anyway.
“The iPhone production cuts have reignited frustration among suppliers and raised worries about Apple’s ability to forecast demand since it started releasing three flagship models instead of two last year, according to executives at Apple suppliers The suppliers’ ability to gauge demand will also be hurt by Apple’s recent decision to stop reporting unit sales, one supplier said.”
MacDailyNews Take: Several paragraphs down, the crux of the issue is finally revealed: The analysts’ hissy fit over being deprived of their precious unit sales crutch continues in the pages of The Wall Street Journal.
“For the current quarter, [Apple] projects revenue of $89 billion to $93 billion. Its growing services business has also offset the company’s contracting hardware margins, industry analysts say,” Kubota, Mochizuki, and Mickle report. “But while Apple has been enjoying record revenue and profit for the past year, the same can’t be said for many of its suppliers. That is because unlike Apple, they can’t benefit from services and software and they rely heavily on handset volumes, suppliers and analysts say.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple will only bring in revenue of some $30 billion per month for the next three months. That’s a billion per day for 90 some odd days. What a financial horror!
The so-called “analysts” scream, “SELL, SELL, SELL!!!” (So they can buy low). Well, so can Apple as they execute their massive buyback program. And so can smart investors.
AAPL is like a buoy. Quick, it’s back on the surface! You there, analyst, and you, too, swim down and tug on the chain! Drag it under… lower, lower… Good! Now, quick, everybody jump on, and we’ll take a ride back up to the top again! — MacDailyNews, January 9, 2012
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At the most basic level, it’s extremely simple: Pump, then dump. Foment, then buy. Rinse, lather, repeat as the SEC sleeps. — MacDailyNews, April 26, 2012
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Even if a particular data point were factual it would be impossible to accurately interpret the data point as to what it meant for our overall business… There is just an inordinate[ly] long list of things that would make any single data point not a great proxy for what’s going on. Apple CEO Tim Cook, January 23, 2013
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If there actually is an issue with iPhone XR sales — and the jury is still way out on that one — that could be a good thing for Apple as it could mean that when spending over $750 on an iPhone, more people than ever say to themselves, “Well, I might as well get the very best one available,” and buy the iPhone Xs Max over iPhone XR. This would positively impact Apple’s iPhone ASP, of course. — MacDailyNews, November 9, 2018
SEE ALSO:
Misreading Apple’s supply chain and iPhone XR demand – November 15, 2018
iPhone XR production cuts not due to soft demand – analyst – November 10, 2018
Nikkei claims iPhone XR production cuts, Apple stock drops over 3% – November 5, 2018
Uh, yeah, about those iPhone X ‘concerns’ from analysts: Never mind – May 1, 2018
Apple beats Street with best Q2 ever – May 1, 2018
Apple’s iPhone X isn’t selling well – or is it? – April 21, 2018
Apple’s iPhone X to be discontinued this year, analyst claims – April 20, 2018
Morgan Stanley: Apple stock may fall on ‘materially’ weaker iPhone sales – April 20, 2018
Apple’s iPhone X made 5 times the profit of 600 Android OEMs combined – April 18, 2018
Apple’s iPhone captured 86% of global handset profits in Q417; iPhone X alone took 35% of global handset profits – April 17, 2018
Bernstein: Ams AG is biggest winner in Apple’s TrueDepth Camera system – April 10, 2018
Apple’s iPhone X is the UK’s most popular smartphone – April 9, 2018
Apple’s iPhone X sales continue to disappoint, some analysts say – March 22, 2018
Ignore the iPhone X naysayers – March 10, 2018
Will the naysayers admit they were wrong about Apple’s iPhone X? – February 5, 2018
Do iPhone X sales spell trouble for Apple? – January 30, 2018
Apple supplier says report of iPhone X production cuts was overstated – January 30, 2018
Another January, another misleading iPhone supply cuts story from Nikkei – January 29, 2018
Apple stock drops after Nikkei report of iPhone X production cut – January 29, 2018
Reports of Apple cutting iPhone X orders make no sense – January 2, 2018
Apple stock tumbles on one poorly-sourced report of low iPhone X demand – December 26, 2017
Apple and suppliers shares drop on report of weak iPhone X demand – December 26, 2017
Nikkei: Apple to decrease iPhone production 10% in first quarter of 2017 – December 30, 2016
Nikkei proclaims ‘iPhone 7’ Dead On Arrival; bemoans Apple’s ‘lack of innovation’ – May 12, 2016
Japan’s Nikkei, The Wall Street Journal blow it, get iPhone demand story all wrong – January 16, 2013
Did Apple reduce 4-inch Retina display orders due to improving yields? – January 15, 2013
Analysts: iPhone 5 demand ‘robust;’ ignore the non-news noise – January 15, 2013
Apple iPhone suppliers decline on report orders cut by 50% – January 15, 2013
Apple swoon erases $17 billion from stock market – January 14, 2013
Apple iPhone 5 production cut signaling a new product release? – January 14, 2013
Apple drops to 11-month low on old reports of component cuts – January 14, 2013
The strange math of Apple’s alleged massive iPhone 5 component cuts – January 14, 2013
UBS analysts: Apple iPhone component order reduction ‘old news’ – January 14, 2013
Apple pulls down U.S. futures – January 14, 2013
Apple shares drop below $500 after reported cuts in iPhone 5 parts orders – January 14, 2013