This happens every year, with some predicting doom and gloom for Cupertino. Surely, the iPhone bubble must burst at some point, right? Well, maybe but certainly not this generation. Although, an interesting report from the Wall Street Journal suggests Apple may have to cut iPhone XS production As this is the Wall Street Journal, I will take the pinch of salt with interest. The report points to a production cut of 30 percent as demand seems to be lower this Holiday Season. Normally, I would question the validity of such claims. Not least because we hear these stories every year and Apple always turns it around by selling millions of handsets. Records are often broken, and revenue remains bullish. Again, at some point the iPhone bubble will burst, and we certainly don’t see the rock star like reception iPhones received around 5 years ago. Of course, there is still plenty of hype, but this time reports of a reducing production output are gathering pace. Until the WSJ waded into the situation, most outlets were reporting production was only cut for the iPhone XR. That would make sense as the affordable new iPhone X model is a tough sell and has limited availability. However, WSJ has expanded and says all new iPhones are facing reduced production.
Reduced Sales
Apple’s sales guidance for the new iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR was 70 million units between September and February. If we consider the production cut, then that figure could be reduced to 50 million. Again, I am skeptical about this apparent decline and would not be surprised if Apple reports sales of 70 million in three months’ time. That said, the adage of no smoke without fire is playing a part here. Apple is certainly feeling the heat of these reports and investors seem to believe them. The company’s market value has taken a dive in recent weeks, not sitting at $918 billion. Sure, no obituaries are being written just yet, but let’s not forget that market cap was over $1 trillion in August.
