Samsung and Chinese companies have been reducing their smartphone orders lately, but so far Apple has been sticking to its plans, a Wall Street firm said. Still, Apple stock fell on Thursday.
In a note to clients, Loop Capital Markets said South Korea-based Samsung has cut its smartphone build orders by at least 25 million units for 2022. Chinese firms Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi also have cut their smartphone orders, Loop said.
The Android smartphone vendors reduced their orders amid softening consumer demand, the firm said.
"To this point, Apple has avoided any major build reductions," Loop analysts said Thursday. But with rising inflation, continued supply chain issues and the Russia-Ukraine war, investors should expect some impact on Apple, they wrote.
Analysts Maintain Buy Ratings On Apple Stock
Investor focus will be on Apple's orders for the upcoming iPhone 14 series, due out in September, Loop said. Those orders should come in July and early August.
Despite "broader smartphone softening, Apple thus far is appearing to show greater resilience than the broader market," Loop analysts said. Loop rates Apple stock as buy.
Research firm Gartner on Thursday said it expects worldwide mobile phone unit shipments to decline 7.1% in 2022 from last year.
Elsewhere on Wall Street, Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives said iPhone demand is holding up well despite broader economic concerns. He rates Apple stock as outperform with a 12-month price target of 200.
On the stock market today, Apple stock dropped 1.8% to close at 136.72.
"We believe the initial bogey and production plans for iPhone 14 should be flat to slightly higher from iPhone 13 out of the gates," Ives said in a note to clients Tuesday. Demand for the iPhone 14 should "remain healthy despite the jittery macro."
Follow Patrick Seitz on Twitter at @IBD_PSeitz for more stories on consumer technology, software and semiconductor stocks.
