Supply Chain Performance Points to Blockbuster Holiday Quarter for Apple

ipad_mini_retina_hand_snowIn a new research note published today, Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Brian White shares data from his "Apple Barometer" for the month of November, with strong increases hinting that Apple will see blockbuster performance for the holiday quarter. White's metric, which tracks performance of Taiwanese suppliers known to be heavily reliant on Apple, has seen record performances for both October and November.

With approximately 97% of the sales now accounted for in our Apple Barometer, we estimate sales in November rose by approximately 19-20% M/M and well above the November average of up 6% over the past eight years. As such, we believe this November will prove to be the strongest in the history of our Apple Barometer. [...]

Given the combination of a record October performance and our expectation of record growth in November, our Apple Barometer is on track to report stronger-than- average seasonality in 4Q:13. If we assume an average MoM sales decline of 10% in December, we estimate our Apple Barometer will grow sales by 28% QoQ in 4Q:13, or more than double the average increase of 13% over the past eight years.

White attributes the strong performance by Apple's supply chain to robust demand for Apple products such as the new iPhone and iPad models, with an iPhone production boost to support a launch on China Mobile in the coming weeks perhaps also contributing.

Investor confidence in Apple is also increasing as the company appears poised for a strong holiday quarter. After falling significantly from late 2012 through the early part of this year, Apple's stock has been rebounding during the second half of 2013, setting a new 52-week high yesterday following a roughly 10% surge over the past two weeks. Like White's reasoning for strong Apple Barometer performance, the recent Apple stock spike has coincided with evidence of strong consumer interest in the company's products for the holiday shopping season, as well as the potential culmination of an iPhone deal with China Mobile, the world's largest carrier.

Popular Stories

New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

20 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Monday December 16, 2024 8:55 am PST by
Apple released iOS 18.2 in the second week of December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. Apple has added a handful of new non-AI related feature controls as...
iphone 16 apple intelligence

Apple Drops Plans for iPhone Hardware Subscription Service

Wednesday December 18, 2024 11:39 am PST by
Apple is no longer planning to launch a hardware subscription service that would let customers "subscribe" to get a new iPhone each year, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman first shared rumors about Apple's work on a hardware subscription service back in 2022, and at the time, he said that Apple wanted to develop a simple system that would allow customers to pay a monthly fee to gain...
blackmagic vision pro

Blackmagic Debuts $30K 3D Camera for Capturing Video for Vision Pro

Monday December 16, 2024 4:17 pm PST by
Blackmagic today announced that its URSA Cine Immersive camera is now available for pre-order, with deliveries set to start late in the first quarter of 2025. Blackmagic says that this is the world's first commercial camera system designed to capture 3D content for the Vision Pro. The URSA Cine Immersive camera was first introduced in June, but it has not been available for purchase until...
mac pro creativity

Apple Launched the Controversial 'Trashcan' Mac Pro 11 Years Ago Today

Thursday December 19, 2024 7:00 pm PST by
Apple launched the controversial "trashcan" Mac Pro eleven years ago today, introducing one of its most criticized designs that persisted through a period of widespread discontentment with the Mac lineup. The redesign took the Mac Pro in an entirely new direction, spearheaded by a polished aluminum cylindrical design that became unofficially dubbed the "trashcan" in the Mac community. All of ...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature Single Camera 2 Redux

Top 5 Apple Products to Look Forward to in 2025

Friday December 20, 2024 2:22 pm PST by
It's looking like 2025 is going to be an important year for Apple, with the company planning to revamp the iPhone, push further into smart home products, and improve Apple Intelligence. There are tons of new products rumored for 2025, including new iPhones, M4 Macs, a smart home command center, and much more. We've highlighted the top five Apple products that will have the biggest impact in...
apple tv 4k yellow bg feature

New Apple TV Rumored to Launch Next Year With These Features

Tuesday December 17, 2024 9:02 am PST by
The current Apple TV 4K was released more than two years ago, so the streaming device is becoming due for a hardware upgrade soon. Fortunately, it was recently rumored that a new Apple TV will launch at some point next year. Below, we recap rumors about the next-generation Apple TV. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman last week reported that Apple has been working on its own combined Wi-Fi and...
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Rumored to Stick With 'Triangular' Camera Design

Wednesday December 18, 2024 2:36 am PST by
Contrary to recent reports, the iPhone 17 Pro will not feature a horizontal camera layout, according to the leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post on Weibo, the leaker said that a source has confirmed that while the appearance of the back of the iPhone 17 Pro has indeed changed, the layout of the three cameras is "still triangular," rather than the "horizontal bar spread on the...
elevation lab airtag battery

Your AirTag's Battery Will Last for Up to 10 Years With Elevation Lab's New TimeCapsule Enclosure

Wednesday December 18, 2024 10:05 am PST by
Elevation Lab today announced the launch of TimeCapsule, an innovative and simple solution for increasing the battery life of Apple's AirTag. Priced at $20, TimeCapsule is an AirTag enclosure that houses two AA batteries that offer 14x more battery capacity than the CR2032 battery that the AirTag runs on. It works by attaching the AirTag's upper housing to the built-in custom contact in the...

Top Rated Comments

hansonjohn590 Avatar
144 months ago
I know correcting grammar/spelling on MR is considered to be rude, so please don't take offense. It's just that reading this comment made me want to drop-kick a puppy.

It's forest.

Reading this comment makes me want to drop-kick a kitten.

It's one ****ing extra letter, if it bothers you that much just PM the poster instead of making a comment.

Don't people have any common sense these days?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
lolkthxbai Avatar
144 months ago
But! But...! Investors and Analysts said "Apple is Doomed"!!!
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
proline Avatar
144 months ago
Can't wait to see the haters spin this into bad news. iOS7 and Mavericks are taking Apple to new highs.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Small White Car Avatar
144 months ago
Hard for me to understand because I'm a long term investor. Apparently most AAPL investors aren't.
Well, the actual problem is that there are two overlapping markets, they just happen to buy the same stocks.

There's individuals like you and me who buy companies with our own money based on how we view the future of those companies. Based on the people I talk to I don't think people like us have done much over the last 4 years. Everyone I know just keeps holding onto their shares.

If we were all there was, it would be a very stable stock.

But we're overlaid with the other kind of investor: The fund manager. This is a guy responsible for billions of dollars of other people's money. Like, say, a pension manager for a city government or large company. It's not his job to get a huge return, but rather to hit a specific (but safe) annual return.

Those are the guys that pumped a ton of money into Apple and shot it up to $700. They're also the guys who moved on at that point because it wasn't going to go much higher. And that was the right move for those guys. They didn't do anything wrong. It's not their job to invest in companies long term, it's their job to protect their own business' money.

But what that does is rock the ocean for you and me. We own sailboats and they're oil tankers. And we're all playing in the same pool. And when they stand up it has a big effect on the water level.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
brianvictor7 Avatar
144 months ago
Doomed!!!

Apple is Doomed! It is soooo DOOOMED!!! This can't possibly be a good sign! Somehow, it spells CERTAIN DOOM! :D
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mpantone Avatar
144 months ago
Investors are weenies.

That said, it should be clearly pointed out that Tim Cook says that predicting Apple's future based on the supply chain is unwise.

All MacRumors posts about the supply chain should have this notation.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)