- Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo recently cut his forecast for iPhone shipments in the first quarter of 2020 by 10% because of the coronavirus, he said in a note reported by CNBC and other outlets.
- The report comes after Apple temporarily shut down its stores and corporate offices in China through February 9 as a cautionary measure.
- Foxconn, Apple's biggest iPhone assembler, may see an impact to its shipments if factories in China remain closed beyond February 10, Reuters reported.
- Apple also factored uncertainty around the coronavirus into its fiscal second-quarter revenue guidance.
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Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst with TF International Securities known for his reliable Apple predictions, recently cut his forecast for iPhone shipments in the first calendar quarter of 2020 because of the coronavirus outbreak.
Kuo cut his estimate for iPhone shipments by 10%, saying that the company is likely to ship between 36 million and 40 million units during the first calendar quarter of the year. In the note, which was reported by CNBC and MacRumors, Kuo cited a survey conducted by his firm which indicated that the coronavirus is impacting iPhone supply.
The report from Kuo comes after Apple said it has temporarily closed all of its stores and corporate offices in China through February 9 "out of an abundance of caution," as the company said in a statement. Foxconn, Apple's largest iPhone assembler, also anticipates that shipments to customers like Apple could be impacted if factory shutdowns extend beyond February 10, according to Reuters. That report comes after Foxconn said just days ago that the coronavirus wouldn't have an impact on its production schedules, as The Verge earlier reported.
Apple CEO Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri addressed concerns about the ongoing coronavirus outbreak during the company's fiscal first-quarter earnings call last week. Cook said the company has been deep cleaning its stores in China, checking employee temperatures, and limiting travel to China to "business critical situations." Apple also factored uncertainty around the coronavirus may affects its business into its revenue guidance for its fiscal second quarter of 2020, which the company expects will fall between $63 billion and $67 billion.
In his note, Kuo said it wasn't clear how the outbreak could impact shipments in the second calendar quarter.
"It's difficult to predict the shipments in 2Q2020 because of the uncertainties of the coronavirus epidemic and consumer confidence," Kuo wrote.
The Wuhan coronavirus has killed more than 300 people and was recently deemed a global health emergency by the World Health Organization. The outbreak has rattled the operations of businesses across various industries, from air travel to fast food chains. The Dow tumbled more than 600 points on January 31 in what was the index's worst fall since August 23.
