Apple can’t keep up with the demand for its just-unveiled iPhone 11. According to Nikkei, the company has increased the production of the phone by an additional 8 million units. This is a 10% increase from what Apple had ordered initially.
A source told Nikkei that:
This autumn is so far much busier than we expected. Previously, Apple was quite conservative about placing orders, which were less than for last year’s new iPhone. After the increase, prepared production volume for the iPhone 11 series will be higher compared to last year.
Apple Silences Critics
A number of analysts criticized Apple shortly after it unveiled its new product line in September. The loudest criticism came from Goldman Sachs, which slashed the company’s target to $165 from $187. The analysts argued that Apple would be affected by accounting issues related to the free trial of Apple TV+.
On Tuesday this week, analysts at Rosenblatt Securities lowered the company’s estimates to $150. Like other analysts with a sell rating, they attributed the cut to the lower shipments of Pro/Max lineups. Of course, this is not the first time that Rosenblatt Securities have been bearish on Apple. Just last month, the company announced that its survey showed weaker iPhone 11 demand.
Other analysts short Apple have said that sales this year will be weaker because the phones lacked 5G. It is likely this fear that has led to an increase in the short interest of Apple stock. Data from Fintel shows that the short interest on Apple stock has been trending higher since July.
In recent years, analysts bearish on Apple have piled on the company for the lack of innovation. They argue that the company has not come up with an innovative product after the iPhone. They forget that Apple Watch is the best-selling smartwatch in the world. They also forget that Apple is the company that created the iPad. Also, they ignore the fact that Apple services reported service revenue of more than $11 billion in the second quarter. This revenue was non-existent a decade ago.
Apple Stock Expected to Soar
Apple’s stock will definitely soar today following this report. The stock, which has risen by 39%, which makes it the best-performing FANG stock, as shown below.
With the stock currently trading at $220, I see a possibility of it retesting $235 in the next few days. This will be the highest level in the past year. I also expect the company to take a good market share in the service segments it is entering. The announced Apple Arcade, Apple TV+, and Apple Card will continue to complement the revenue from the iPhone.
Of course, Apple has missed a few opportunities. For example, it was late to the smart speaker industry that is now dominated by Amazon and Google. It has also avoided the enterprise cloud industry that is now dominated by Amazon and Microsoft.
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