Delta variant will make iPhone sales “difficult”



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Delta’s unpredictable variant appears to be wreaking havoc on the financial modeling skills of the team covering Apple (AAPL) at Goldman Sachs.

“We believe that iPhone revenue growth in the fourth calendar quarter will be difficult for Apple, but we continue to report low confidence in our ability to predict demand given the complex interplay of issues such as the variant. Delta, supply shortages, the end of stimulus measures and high consumer savings, ”Goldman Sachs analyst Rod Hall conceded in a research note Wednesday.

Hall remained one of the most bearish Wall Street analysts on Apple, reiterating a price target of $ 140 on the stock. At current price levels, Hall estimates a 5.4% drop in Apple shares over the next 12 months.

Goldman’s interesting comment comes as other people on the streets generally had a positive opinion the day after Apple’s big product reveal event on Tuesday.

While Apple hasn’t released anything flashy in terms of hardware, it may have done just enough to whet the appetite of the bulls in the longer term.

As Dan Howley, editor-in-chief of Yahoo Finance, writes, the flagships of Apple’s new lineup are the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro. Both versions of the iPhone 13 benefit from improved low-light camera capabilities, with the iPhone 13’s ultra-wide-angle camera and wide-angle lenses capturing better photos in dark environments.

Perhaps to the disappointment of some analysts, Apple has kept the prices of the new iPhones stable.

Meanwhile, Apple also unveiled the Apple Watch Series 7. The new watch gets a 20% larger screen thanks to smaller bezels and a slightly larger body. But, Apple hasn’t released any awesome new features for the watch or changed the look too drastically as has been said.

Apple shares edged down in Wednesday afternoon trading.

“There have been few surprises with Apple product launches, as media coverage continues to give product details well ahead of launch. On the iPhone 13 family, we view the update as more incremental than transformative by compared to the iPhone 12 family, but still believe there will be a significant upgrade cycle due to demand for a 5G device, ”said Sidney Ho, analyst at Deutsche Bank.

Ho reiterated his buy note on Apple shares.

Ho added, “Overall, the iPhone launch was generally as expected and we see nothing of what has been announced regarding the iPhone that should change the title’s investment thesis.”

Yahoo Finance Dan Howley contributed to this story.

Brian Sozzi is an editor and anchor at Yahoo Finance. Follow Sozzi on Twitter @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn.

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