Technology

China contagion has spread to the US as IPR’s carrier, retail, and supplier checks indicate iPhone 14 sell-through continues to soften, coming in below expected demand for Apr. IPR believes AAPL’s planned test equipment purchases from Keysight, LitePoint and Anritsu were cancelled or delayed, suggesting slower production looking into 2H23. RF component purchases from Qualcomm, Cirrus, Broadcom, Skyworks and Qorvo have been trimmed, reflecting weakening demand. AAPL's Q3 hardware sales typically drop about -9% Q/Q, but IPR believes iPhone 14 could see declines closer to -20%. The iPhone 15 could also prove disappointing.

Report by 280First

Utilising AI, NLP, data analytics and qualitative analyst oversight, 280First can rapidly glean material / actionable insights on companies.

Qorvo (QRVO) - Concerns about large customers. The following wording was added to its risk factor in 10K 2022 “The loss of one or more of these customers could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations”.
HP Inc (HPQ) - Pricing issues. Changed wording in 2Q 10Q vs. prior quarter; “We expect the pricing environment to get more competitive”.
Cavco Industries (CVCO) - Seeing early signs of increasing cancellations?
Ralph Lauren (RL) - Worried about increasing prices and its impact on demand.

Technology

Report by Westlake International

Westlake's report includes detailed analysis and data on semi shortages, handsets and components inventory and lead times - Qualcomm, MediaTek, Skyworks, Qorvo and Broadcom saw very strong pricing and better-than-guided 1Q demand at Chinese OEMs. Their OEM contacts also observed lower phone inventory in 1Q vs. 4Q, with some indicating 6-7% inventory-to-sales ratio (normal level is 10-12%). Based on fab wafer sizes and technology nodes, the most severe shortages were seen in basebands / SoCs, MCUs, CIS sensors, display ICs and PMICs.