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.

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.