Investing.com-- Shares of Apple Inc's (NASDAQ:AAPL) biggest Asian suppliers sank on Wednesday, tracking an overnight decline in the iPhone maker after Barclays downgraded the stock citing cooling demand for its flagship product.
Apple slid nearly 3.6% to a seven-week low on Tuesday after Barclays downgraded the stock to underweight from equal weight, while also trimming the stock’s price target to $160 from $161. Tuesday's losses wiped out about $100 billion of market capitalization from the iPhone maker.
Barclays analysts flagged increased headwinds for Apple’s future device sales, particularly the iPhone. Such a scenario bodes poorly for Asian suppliers, given that a bulk of Apple’s supply chain for its devices is geared heavily towards Asia.
Shares of South Korea’s SK Hynix Inc (KS:000660) and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (KS:005930)- which supply memory chips and displays to Apple- sank between 2% and 3%. Samsung SDI (KS:006400)- which supplies Apple with batteries- shed 2.9%.
LG Display (KS:034220) and LG Chem Ltd (KS:051915)- which are also suppliers to the iPhone maker- shed 0.3% and 2.5%, respectively, while Posco International Corp (KS:047050) lost 0.8%.
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd (TW:2317) and TSMC (TW:2330) (NYSE:TSM)- which are key semiconductor suppliers to Apple- lost 0.5% and 2% in Taiwan trade.
In China, AAC Technologies Holdings Inc (HK:2018)- which supplies acoustic components to Apple- fell 3.6%, while BYD (HK:1211) sank 0.4% in Hong Kong trade.
Barclays said that after a lackluster sales performance by the iPhone 15, its successor was likely to follow suit, with the firm unlikely to incorporate any new technologies that could spur a substantial sales boost.
Apple’s sales in China declined for three quarters in 2023, with the decline being partially attributed to a ban on government employees from using Apple products. The firm is also facing increased competition in the country from new offerings from Huawei, which had in October launched a new flagship phone aimed directly at the iPhone.
Barclays said that Apple is likely to see weaker sales in developed markets, while increased sales in emerging markets are unlikely to offset the decline. The firm's services unit is also expected to see laggard revenue growth in the coming year.
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