Apple was unable to mass-produce enough iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max units in the fourth quarter, which was said to be the company’s busiest quarter due to the holiday season. In a rare move, the company made a public announcement about the low number of units, and this could be why Apple may see a drop in sales in nearly four years.
Analysts believe Apple will report just over $121 billion in revenue for the December quarter, which is lower than what the company reported a year ago
Foxconn had to temporarily close its factory in Zhengzhou, China, resulting in a supply chain disruption for the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. It was estimated that Apple will report a drop in shipments of 20 million for the fourth quarter of 2022. In addition, the low demand for the cheaper iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus did not help. CNBC reports that UBS analyst David Vogt wrote the following about Apple’s supply chain in January.
“We think the peak impact of the disruptions was felt in early to mid-November, when wait times reached extreme levels (link), as US wait time for the 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max hit 34 days, while China wait time reached 34 days. on the high-end hit 36 days.”
This series of setbacks means that Apple will post its first revenue decline in nearly four years. According to analysts, Apple will report just over $121 billion in revenue in the December 2022 quarter, which would be a slight decrease from the company’s $123.9 billion in revenue it reported a year ago.
Since Foxconn’s Zhengzhou facility assembles the lion’s share of the world’s iPhones, Apple is not only sourcing production from China, but its partner is also rumored to have lost exclusivity status for upcoming iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Ultra orders. What kind of financial results do you think Apple will post in the coming days?