Top Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in a note that his firm, TF international Securities, is cutting iPhone shipment forecasts for the first quarter of 2020 by 10% because of the coronavirus.
"Our latest survey indicates that the iPhone supply is being affected by the coronavirus and, therefore, we cut the iPhone shipment forecasts by 10% to 36-40 mn units in 1Q20," Kuo said in Sunday's note. Apple no longer discloses how many iPhones it ships each quarter, but Kuo estimates Apple shipped about 38 million during the first quarter of last year.
Kuo said it's unclear how shipments will be affected moving into the second quarter. "It's difficult to predict the shipments in 2Q2020 because of the uncertainties of the coronavirus epidemic and consumer confidence," he said.
Apple reported earnings last Tuesday, when it smashed iPhone sales expectations. It reported iPhone revenues of $55.96 billion versus $51.92 billion expected by analysts surveyed by Refinitiv. But CEO Tim Cook warned that the coronavirus might affect sales for the next quarter, and he set a $4 billion revenue guidance range of $63 billion to $67 billion.
China's National Health Commission on Monday reported 17,205 cases of coronavirus in the country and 361 deaths. Over the weekend, Apple said it was closing more than 40 stores in China and its corporate offices through next Sunday.
