Heavyweight US bank JPMorgan has cut its estimates for sales of iPhones and also its revenue forecast for Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) because of computer chip shortages and factory closures in Asia.
JPM now expects iPhone revenue of $63bn for the first quarter of fiscal 2022, which would be an annual decline of nearly 4% said the bank.
Sales in the current three months, the final quarter of 2021, should still be healthy with the bank forecasting iPhone sales of 58mln units and revenues of US$46bn compared to consensus forecasts of around US$41bn.
JPM also expects the iconic phone to retain its appeal over the long term.
"We continue to see strong demand for iPhone 13 and 5G iPhone SE relative to low investor expectations to act as a catalyst, the timing of realisation of which, although delayed on account of supply headwinds, is unchanged in magnitude," analyst Samik Chatterjee said in a note.
Another broker, Needham, last week flagged potential sales issues for Apple when it cut its forecast for iPhone 13 shipments to 80mln units in the first quarter of 2022 and lowered its forecast for this quarter by 10mln units.
Bloomberg News reported last week that Apple might cut production of iPhone 13s by as many as 10mln units because of troubles sourcing chips with wait-times now among the longest on record.
Last night, Apple said its two new MacBook Pro models, which use in-house chips would start shipping next week, Reuters reported.