Apple Expects Strong iPhone 14 Sales, Revs-Up Suppliers For 90 Million As AAPL Shares Surge

During a time when many companies are seeing lower sales, Apple stock has been rising ahead of its annual fall product launch. The tech giant is set to announce the launch of its iPhone 14 lineup in September.

Lower-priced and mid-tier Android phone sales have seen a decline in the recent economic slowdown, according to analysts. This would lead some to think a company like Apple might hold back a bit on the upcoming production numbers of its yet to be released iPhone 14 smartphones. However, Apple is expected to ask its suppliers to produce 90 million units. This number is in line with what was produced during last year's launch period for the iPhone 13.

The projected production numbers indicates that the Cupertino tech company is confident it will remain unaffected by the anticipated slow down in mobile device sales through the rest of the year. All in all, Apple is expecting to sell around 220 million iPhones in 2022, according to a Bloomberg report. The optimistic outlook led to Apple experiencing a rise in its stock, up 2.1% at close yesterday, August 13, 2022. These new highs are outperforming the S&P 500.

In an interview with CNBC on Friday, Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi said, "Many investors feel, 'OK, we may have economic weakness going forward, but Apple is perhaps immune to that given the franchise strength.'" However, he did add that the positive outlook will still require further evidence.

There have been a few rumors about what changes the iPhone 14 may bring to the table. One of those is that the name for the iPhone Max may change to the iPhone Plus, in order to differentiate between the two 6.7-inch models. Another speculation is that there may be a wider gap in performance between the Pro models over the lower end models than in the past, which could spur sales for its higher-end devices. A few others include possible new cameras, a new punch hole design for the selfie camera, and of course a new A16 Bionic chip.

The bold move by Apple is keeping its investors and market analyst optimistic, even though the overall market outlook remains bleak for the remainder of the year. The company needs for its next generation of smartphones to perform well, as they account for nearly half of its revenue.

Top Image Credit: Apple