Wedbush Analyst Daniel “@DivesTech” Ives Stays Stoked Over Apple
23 MAY 2022 - Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives had a message on Friday, and he got it out a couple of ways. One was through a note to analysts (posted by Apple 3.0), while the other was through his Twitter account, @DivesTech. Personally, I appreciate the brevity of his three Tweets, though the note offers the kind of detail that people moving tens-of-thousands of dollars or more kind of like to see.
“As of now,” says the first of three Twitter posts:
…we believe iPhone demand is holding up better than expected (despite the various supply issues that have plagued Apple and the rest of the tech sector) and are trending better than management's guidance thus far in the quarter.
Those supply issues are no joke, though. The note reminds readers of the $4 billion to $8 billion headwind Apple execs have said the company is facing this quarter due to issues in the supply chain.
But, it seems, it could’ve been worse. “Over the last few weeks,” says the second of three Tweets:
…our Asia iPhone supply chain checks have been "surprisingly resilient" despite the zero Covid driven demand issues in China that remain the elephant in the room for the Apple story. Remains top tech pick despite many yelling fire in a crowded theater
It’s not just current demand that feeds his belief, though. As Ives has indicated for a while now, iPhone’s installed base is so big, there’s always a sizable portion lined up for an upgrade. The way he sees it:
The stickiness of the iPhone upgrade cycle is being underestimated by investors in our opinion as we estimate that roughly 240 million of Apple’s 1 billion iPhones have not been upgraded to a new smartphone in roughly 3.5 years. This importantly speaks to the Apple growth path over the next 12 to 18 months as iPhone 14 is set to be unveiled in the September timeframe…
He wraps his note saying:
While the nervous market backdrop is creating a fearful environment for tech stocks, we believe Apple’s growth story remains well intact despite the macro. Apple remains our favorite tech name.
Similar sentiments in Twitter post three of three:
Apple remains our favorite tech name as we reiterate our OUTPERFORM rating and $200 price target with these recent checks giving us further confidence in the iPhone cycle into 2023.
