While analysts have offered their own opinion and forecasts regarding iPhone sales, it was only until Apple themselves announced that they would be revising their forecasts that made it seem more “real” that iPhone sales are definitely not what they used to be. However could it be that analysts and the market in general are just too pessimistic?That’s what analyst Ming-Chi Kuo thinks, and in a research note obtained by MacRumors, Kuo seems to believe that the worst could soon be over. According to Kuo, “We maintain our forecast of 188–192mn units for 2019 iPhone shipments. We believe the downside risks of share prices for the Apple and iPhone supply chain are limited in the near term given that 2Q19 iPhone shipments will likely be better than the market consensus.”
Part of the reasons why the iPhones aren’t selling as well as they are is due to the trade war between the US and China at the moment. According to reports, this has prompted Chinese customers to informally boycott Apple, to the extent where some companies even offer up incentives and subsidies to employees to purchase local brands instead of Apple.
Kuo believes that as long as the trade war between both countries does not worsen, he expects that we will start seeing improvements in the second half of 2019, although by that he means that shipments will be flat compared to the second half of 2018 versus it declining. Whether or not that is true remains to be seen.
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