Apple (AAPL) shares edged higher Monday following a report that suggested the tech giant was able to buck the trend of cooling personal computer demand with solid third quarter MacBook shipments.
The International Data Corporation's closely-tracked survey showed global PC shipments fell 15% from last year to around 74.3 million units, lead by a 27.8% decline for HP Inc. (HPQ). Apple, however, notched a 40.2% gain for the three months ending in September, with shipments rising to just over 10,000 units of is Mac personal computers.
Apple said earlier this summer that Mac sales fell 11.35% over the three months ending in June, its fiscal third quarter, to just over $7.38 billion. iPad sales were down around 2% at $7.224 billion.
"Consumer demand has remained muted though promotional activity from the likes of Apple and other players has helped soften the fall and reduce channel inventory by a couple weeks across the board," said the IDC's Jitesh Ubrani. "Supply has also reacted to the new lows by reducing orders with Apple being the only exception as their third quarter supply increased to make up for lost orders stemming from the lockdowns in China during the second quarter."
Apple shares were marked 0.15% higher in late-morning trading to change hands at $140.22 each, a move that still leaves the stock with a six-month decline of around 15.4%.
The figures could soothe at least some investor concerns linked to waning iPhone demand, following reports late last month that Apple has instructed suppliers and assemblers to pare back plans to boost production of the newly-launched iPhone 14 by as many as 6 million units, opting instead to chase a target of 90 million -- roughly in-line with last year's tally and its early summer forecast -- for the second half of this year.
BofA Global Research analyst Wamsi Mohan loped $25 from his Apple price target, lowering it to $160 per share, while cutting his rating on the stock 'neutral' on September 29, as he anticipated "material negative estimate revisions" for its near-term profits.
Mohan noted what he called a "weaker iPhone 14 cycle", set against elevated risks to global consumer spending, decelerating gains in services revenues, a return to pre-COVID demand levels for iPads and Macs, and headwinds from the surging U.S. dollar.
Foxconn, Apple's biggest assembler and a key link in its global supply chain, reported record September quarter revenues last week and said it was "cautiously optimistic" with respect to it outlook for sales over the final three months of the year.
Apple declined to provide detailed September quarter revenue guidance following its better-than-expected third quarter earnings in late July, but said overall revenue growth would likely outpace gains over the three months ending in June.
Apple said solid China demand, as well as a muted supply chain hit, helped iPhone revenues rise 2.8% from last year to $40.67 billion over the June quarter, just ahead of the $40.5 billion Street forecast.
Overall, Apple earned more than $19.44 billion for its fiscal third quarter, as revenues rose 2% from last year to $82.96 billion, just ahead of analysts' estimates of $82.88 billion.
