Top analyst sees Apple having to cut the price of two iPhone 15 models, or reduce orders for them
It has been 11 days since Apple unveiled the iPhone 15 series, eight days since it started taking pre-orders, and one day since the phones were released. To find out how the process is going thus far, we turn to TF International's world-famous Apple analyst (at least among phone enthusiasts) Ming-Chi Kuo. In his latest written report, Kuo says that things are going so well that Apple's fiscal Q4 iPhone revenue and profits will both be better than expected.
Kuo has continued to stick with his forecast that 80 million iPhone 15 series phones will be shipped during the second half of this year while 76 million iPhone 14 units were shipped during the second half of last year, a 5.3% year-over-year increase in deliveries. Of course, last year's numbers were impacted by the shutdown of Foxconn's largest iPhone factory in Zhengzhou because of China's COVID lockdown.
Kuo says that by tracking the orders for the telephoto module that is exclusive to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he expects that Apple raised its order for the top-of-the-line iPhone 15 model to 35 million units, a 25% hike from the 28 million iPhone 14 Pro Max units delivered during the second half of last year. Kuo writes that the iPhone 15 Pro Max will be "serving as the primary growth driver for Apple's iPhone business in 4Q23."
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is bullish on Apple's iPhone 15 series shipments for 2023
As for the other 6.7-inch model in the lineup, the iPhone 15 Plus, Kuo says that expectations were lowered so much that sales results are better than expected. As for the two 6.1-inch models, the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro, the analyst says that sales of both models are falling under expectations and if Apple doesn't cut the prices for these two phones, it might have to reduce orders for the two handsets.
Since Kuo, as we like to point out, is an analyst for a securities house that makes money buying and selling securities for the public, this might be a propitious time to note that Apple's shares have continued to show weakness trading sideways to down and closed Friday at $174.79 giving the company a market valuation of $2.73 trillion.
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