Apple shares hit lowest since June 2021 on iPhone supply concerns

Apple Inc. shares touched their lowest level since June 2021 on Tuesday, amid an ongoing selloff of big tech stocks that has been amplified by concerns over iPhone supply in the key holiday period.

The stock fell as much as 2.4 per cent in what was on track to be its third straight negative session, though it pared much of that decline and last traded down 1.4 per cent as of 10.45am in New York (7.45pm in UAE). While Apple remains a modest outperformer for 2022, with a 27 per cent decline that is narrower than the 33 per cent drop of the Nasdaq 100 Index, it has lagged the performance of the tech-heavy index over the past month.

Recent weakness has come as production halts in a major iPhone plant in China contribute to a supply shortfall of Apple’s flagship product. Earlier on Tuesday, JPMorgan wrote that iPhone supply is “improving and inching slowly towards parity with demand”, although it added that Apple is typically “much further along in reaching parity between iPhone demand and supply” at this time in the year. Due to this issue, the firm expects results in Apple’s December quarter to be “muted” relative to consensus expectations.

Separately, JPMorgan analyst Samik Chatterjee also wrote that the latest smartphone shipment data out of China “confirm industry headwinds”.

Tech was broadly lower on Tuesday, with the Nasdaq 100 down 0.8 per cent. The group is facing its worst December performance since the dotcom era as investors expect the Federal Reserve will retain a hawkish stance as it grapples with inflation.