“Analysts John Donovan and Steve Mullane of boutique shop BlueFin Research Partners today write that trends for Apple‘s (AAPL) iPhone and iPad are ‘strong,’ based on their checks, and that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) may enjoy some higher level of business making the company’s ‘“A-series’ processors for the devices, given what appears to be production stumbles at Samsung Electronics,” Tiernan Ray reports for Barron’s.
“Samsung, Apple’s long-standing manufacturing partner for the A-series chips, has been having some yield issues with parts made using the latest, 20-nanometer chip manufacturing process — which would presumably find their way into forthcoming models of the devices — the authors contend, citing their ‘checks’ of Samsung’s facilities in Austin, Texas,” Ray reports. “The authors think that the iPhone 5S is doing better in the market than the Street believes, suggesting sales this year of the iPhone could reach 172 million to 177 million, versus what they believe to be the average Street estimate for 160 million to 164 million.”
Ray reports, “With respect to the iPad, the authors argue that ‘the impact of the iPad Air will continue to swell in 2014 and we are tracking 1H iPad units at closer to 35-36M, with 2H14 demand at 44-47M.'”
Read more in the full article here.