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Apple’s iPhones bring in more than 50% of the company’s revenue.
Punit Paranjpe/AFP via Getty Images
With
Apple
earnings now two weeks out, Wall Street analysts have begun to tweak their estimates for the June quarter and beyond. At least one analyst worries that the near-term outlook for iPhone sales, which account for more than half of the company’s revenues, looks weak.
BofA Global Research analyst Wamsi Mohan on Wednesday raised his price target on Apple (ticker: AAPL) shares to $210, from $190, but reiterated his Neutral rating on the stock. He noted concerns that iPhone sales for the September 2023 fiscal year could miss consensus estimates.
In a research note, Mohan said that June quarter results, due to be reported on Aug. 3, are likely to be “mostly inline” with Street estimates. He sees $80.7 billion in revenue and profits of $1.17 a share, a little below the Street consensus forecast for $81.8 billion in revenue and earnings of $1.19 a share. Mohan noted that while management had guided for four percentage points of headwind from currency, he thinks the actual impact will be under 2 points.
But Mohan is concerned that fourth-quarter guidance could disappoint the Street, saying that his channel checks find that the launch of the iPhone 15 could be delayed by a few weeks, pushing the debut of the next-generation phone into the December quarter. He now sees September quarter revenue of $87.1 billion, well below consensus at $91.6 billion, even with a 2.5% tailwind in the quarter from favorable foreign-exchange rates.
Mohan says that he expects every Apple hardware category to show year-over-year sales declines in the June quarter. Given the likely timing of the new iPhone launch and tougher comparisons for the Mac, he sees potential for further product-revenue declines in the September quarter. The analyst expects sales of 48 million iPhone units in the September quarter, below the Street consensus forecast at 51 million.
Apple shares ended the day up 0.7% at $195.10, getting a modest boost from a report that the company is working on an AI chatbot.
Write to Eric J. Savitz at [email protected]
Source: https://www.barrons.com/articles/apple-earnings-iphone-sales-delay-47247f90?siteid=yhoof2&yptr=yahoo