Apple (AAPL) – Get Apple Inc. Report shares edged lower Wednesday after a downgrade from Goldman Sachs clouded news that its new MacBook Air will begin shipping to customers by the end of next week.
Apple said the new MacBook, which carries a company-designed M2 chip, will be available for orders on Friday July 8, with the first customer deliveries slated for July 15. The MacBook Pro, an undated 13-inch version of the Apple-made laptop, has been available since June 17.
Mac sales were the standout performer in terms of Apple hardware last quarter, with revenues rising 14.7% to $10.44 billion over the three months ending in March. That compared to a 5.5% rise in iPhone revenues, which came in just over $50.5 billion, and a 2% dip in iPad sales owing to chip and supply chain shortages.
Goldman Sachs analyst Rod Hall, however, cautioned that hardware and device sales, the bulk of Apple revenues, could be at risk if the global economy were to tip into recession.
Hall lowered his price target on Apple by $27 a share, to $130 each, while holding his “neutral” rating in place, in anticipation of a 2% annual decline in group revenues over the next two fiscal years.
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Apple shares were marked 0.65% lower in pre-market trading Wednesday, moving largely in-line with broader equity market futures, to indicate an opening bell price of $140.65 each. That would leave the stock with a year-to-date decline of around 22.2% and value the Cupertino, California-based tech giant at around $2.27 trillion.
Last month, Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty told her clients that Apple faces “downside risk” for services revenue growth over the current quarter, noting that App Store sales had slowed to around 6% over the two months ending in May.
Apple CEO Tim Cook told investors in April that Covid and supply chain disruptions around what he called the “Shanghai corridor”, as well as Russia’s war in Ukraine, would clip between $4 billion and $8 billion from current quarter revenues, marring an otherwise impressive second quarter earnings beat.
The Wall Street Journal has also reported that Apple, which makes by some estimates around 90% of its hardware products inside China, is looking to expand manufacturing hubs in India and Vietnam in order to both diversify its supply-chain and counter the impact of China’s draconian Covid lockdowns.
Apple will report its fiscal third quarter earnings on July 28. Early estimates suggest revenues in the region of $82 billion and a bottom line of $1.16 per share.
