'Signs of Trouble' Seen for Apple With Higher iPhone Prices, Analyst Says
Apple could have a rough road ahead of it this year, according to one analyst. The iPhone, which the company relies on to keep its profit margins healthy, might just keep getting more expensive, both to buy and produce, and that could spell trouble for the Cupertino-based firm.
Wall Street research firm Nomura Instinet has issued their latest forecast for Apple, and it's not a rosy outlook for the company's high-end handsets for 2018. iPhone unit sales, especially for high-end models like the iPhone X or the iPhone 8 Plus, will continue to disappoint investors who are hoping for an extension of last year's numbers.
"Our demand checks suggest little improvement in iPhone demand in 2018. Corresponding supply chain downticks suggest iPhone expectations have yet to bottom," Jeffrey Kvaal, an analyst for Nomura Instinet, explained in an investor note on Monday, March 19, as quoted by CNBC.
Kvaal added that they are seeing "further signs of trouble at the high end of the market. ... One factor that is likely suppressing the smartphone market is price."
It's an assessment that more and more analysts are finding themselves agreeing with, even the ones that have been bullish for Apple. Longbow Research, for one, is now about to downgrade their expectations for this year's iPhone sales figures, according to 9 to 5 Mac.
"Sources inside Apple's Asian manufacturing supply chain paint a much gloomier picture than Cook. This period of flat or declining sales is likely to continue for much of the rest of the year," the insiders reported to Longbow research, pointing out that the iPhone X and its notch did not sell well during last year's holiday season.
The sources also noted that Apple itself may not be so optimistic on the iPhone X this year, either. "We didn't get as many 1Q orders as previously anticipated," the insiders from iPhone supply chain firms added.
