Apple Stock Falls and Suppliers Decline on Report of iPhone SE Output Cuts

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Shares of

Apple

and the tech giant’s suppliers were falling early Monday following a Nikkei Asia report that said Apple plans to make about 20% fewer iPhone SEs next quarter.

Earlier this month, Apple (ticker: AAPL) announced the latest version of its lower cost iPhone SE, starting at $429. The phone adds 5G wireless capability and uses the same A15 Bionic chip used in the company’s flagship iPhone 13. Shipments of the phone began on March 18.

The company has been telling multiple suppliers that it aims to lower production orders by about 2 million to 3 million units for the quarter, citing weaker-than-expected demand, according to a report from Nikkei Asia, which cited four people briefed on the matter.

The report also said Apple reduced orders for its AirPods earphones by more than 10 million units for all of 2022, with the company predicting lukewarm demand.

The report noted that demand has been dented by the Russia-Ukraine war and the outlook for higher inflation. The war also has compounded the years-long chip shortage.

Apple shares were falling 1.7% in premarket trading Monday to $171.76. Barron’s has asked the company to comment on the report from Nikkei Asia.

The shares of certain suppliers to the tech giant also were trading lower.

Qorvo

(QRVO) fell 3.6%;

Broadcom

(AVGO) declined 0.9%;

Qualcomm

(QCOM) fell 0.3% and

Skyworks Solutions

(SKWS) dropped 1.5%.

Write to Joe Woelfel at [email protected]