Analysts claim ‘key component’ limiting Apple’s iPhone 4S supply

“Supply constraints remain Apple’s only issue in meeting strong demand for the new iPhone 4S, with one new report claiming those constraints are being caused by limited availability of one crucial component,” Neil Hughes reports for AppleInsider.

“Exactly what that component is, analyst Ashok Kumar with Rodman & Renshaw did not not say,” Hughes reports. “But in a note to investors on Tuesday, he said that production of the iPhone 4S is likely to be constrained in the current holiday quarter ‘due to low yields on a key component.'”

Hughes reports, “In all, he expects total iPhone shipments in the September quarter to be around 30 million units, which he believes would be below Wall Street expectations.”

Read more in the full article here.

Phillip Elmer-Dewitt reports for Fortune, “For the record, 30 million units is 3 million more than Kumar’s own 27 million estimate, which he described in October as representing a ‘strong rebound.'”

“Meanwhile, Susquehanna’s Jeff Fidacaro cites equally vague ‘supply constraints’ in a report that suggests a 2-3 million reduction in iPhone 4S builds for the quarter. Accordingly, he is reducing his iPhone 4S production estimates from 26-28 million to 23-25 million,” P.E.D. reports. “But ‘store checks suggest that demand remain solid,’ he writes, and when he throws in the iPhone 3GS and the iPhone 4, his total iPhone production forecast for the quarter is 29-34 million units.”

“Considering that Apple sold 16.24 million iPhones in the December quarter last year, that represents somewhere between 79% and 101% growth year over year,” P.E.D. writes.
“Not too shabby. Which makes you wonder why these notes are being cast as warnings.”

Read more in the full article here.

21 Comments

  1. “Repositioning the legacy 3GS at the entry level buys Apple time, but it is a dated product with limited shelf-life,” Kumar wrote. “A (purpose-built) lower end SKU is key for Apple to grow share.”

    Didn’t Kumar get the memo? Apple isn’t interested in “share”. Apple is interested in profit margins. Let the also-rans service the freeloading bottom feeders.

  2. Actually, any sense ‘analysis’ would have level of iPhone sales for Q4 from about 25 million units as basis.

    This level of sales would be natural progression comparing to previous sales as well as last years’ level.

    Manufacturing limitation are very well possible, but these ‘analysts’ apparently know nothing concrete, and, as always, ‘push bullshit’.

      1. Ty as I might, I can’t find a discussion group with more posts that are nearly illiterate, apparently from folks whose first language is English, or perhaps some form of English that evolved in poorly ventilated basements from a mixture of Mountain Dew and semen.

        1. Very funny, zubonhebi. It’s just this, the escalating insults, the spoonerisms, the non sequiturs, the testosterone-fueled rants, and finally the evocative poetry like yours that draw me back to this site. Still, it’s best to watch one’s back.

  3. “Not too shabby. Which makes you wonder why these notes are being cast as warnings.”
    Is this guy really THIS stupid? Is he really incapable of recognising stock manipulation
    when it’s as obvious as this? Or does it actually have to bite him in the ass to get him to see it.

  4. The missing crucial ingredient is “common sense”, and it is not missing from the iPhone, it is missing from all these lame brained nitwits who claim to be anal-ist… When I’m in charge, I will draw and quarter these fools unless they can prove their ramblings to be true

  5. The only missing component is a fist-sized explosive device designed to be inserted into that orifice on myriad “analysts” from which their best work flows. Instructions for use are as follows:
    1. Pull pin.
    2. Delight MDN readers with the results.

  6. Over the past week or so I have seen even more stories than usual whining about the many shortcomings of APPL. You would think that this poorly managed company is near collapse from technical glitches, the rise of Android and Amazon, and the wrath of shareholders who are steamed that, instead of a mountain of debt, Apple has a mountain of cash.

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