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Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) China iPhone shipments recovered sequentially in December (+88%) as its supply chain improved, according to UBS analysts on Tuesday.
They told investors in a research note that following a year-over-year decline of 27% and 36% in October and November, his firm estimates that China smartphone shipments during December declined 18% against a tough 30% comp last year.
“However, compared to November, total smartphone sell-in was up 21%, supporting our view that the worst of the supply chain disruption is behind the industry,” the analysts wrote. “We estimate local brands declined 23% YoY in December vs a 32% decline in November despite a 10-point more challenging comp, a positive development. While local brand shipments improved 21% Nov to Dec, iPhone shipments far outpaced the local brands increasing 88% month-over-month and +20% YoY in December vs a 58%/57% MoM/YoY decline in November.”
However, the analysts acknowledged that while the iPhone sell-in strength is encouraging, it is “important to note that sell-in during the fourth quarter was down ~28% owing to the well-documented disruptions in October and November.”
Nevertheless, they believe December data should alleviate investor concerns that material supply chain disruptions continued into 2023.
