Apple stock is rising ahead of the company’s annual fall product launch event. The consumer electronics giant is expected to unveil the iPhone 14 series of smartphones and other gadgets at an event in September.
Apple ( AAPL ) is reportedly gearing up for an iPhone 14 launch that’s at least as big as last year’s iPhone 13 launch. Bloomberg reported Thursday that Apple has told its assemblers to produce 90 million new handsets on par with last year’s launch period. Apple is relying on its affluent customer base to sustain iPhone sales in a poor economic environment, Bloomberg said.
The Cupertino, Calif.-based company expects to make a total of about 220 million iPhones by 2022, also the same as last year, Bloomberg said.
Meanwhile, sales of low-end and mid-range Android smartphones are slowing down, say analysts.
Apple stock surges as iPhone 14 launches
Shares of Apple rose 2.1% to close at 172.10 on the stock market today. It has been consolidating over the past 32 weeks with a buy point of 183.04, according to IBD MarketSmith Charts.
In a positive development, Apple stock’s relative strength is hitting new highs as it outperforms the S&P 500. This action is highlighted with a blue dot on the daily and weekly MarketSmith charts.
Apple is expected to introduce four versions of its iPhone 14, which will be incremental upgrades to the current flagship models. The company’s 16th generation iPhones will be the third generation 5G-enabled handsets.
Is Apple recession-proof?
Bernstein analyst Tony Sacconaghi said on CNBC on Friday that the iPhone 14 will show whether Apple is recession-proof. Some pundits have made this claim after the company’s better-than-expected June-quarter report.
“A lot of investors think, ‘OK, we may have financial weakness ahead, but Apple is probably immune because of franchise strength,'” he said. More evidence is still needed for Apple’s alleged flexibility, Sacconaghi said.
“The question is: How do consumers respond to (the iPhone 14 launch)?” he said “Do they upgrade at the same rate as recently? Or do they upgrade at a slower or faster rate?”
Apple has scheduled a fall product launch event for September 13, Loop Capital analyst John Donovan said in a note to clients on Wednesday. However, there is “growing evidence” that Apple will hold the event a week earlier, on September 6, he said. Loop rates as buying Apple stock.
Apart from the iPhone 14, Apple is likely to introduce its Apple Watch Series 8 wearable at the event.