Apple's Ugly 2024 Start Plagued With Downgrades And Muted Foxconn Demand

Apple shares are lower in premarket trading, marking a potential fifth consecutive session of declines. This selling pressure follows two downgrades from analysts at Barclays and Piper Sandler, who warned about sliding iPhone demand. 

If two downgrades in a week weren't enough this week, Apple's biggest iPhone assembler, Taiwan's Foxconn, said Friday it expects the fourth consecutive decline in quarterly sales after a 5.4% drop in the last three months of 2023, an indication consumer electronics demand remains soft. 

The world's largest contract electronics maker offers a glimpse into the iPhone demand, especially after the iPhone 15 was released in September. So far, iPhone 15 demand in the US has spurred a wave of upgrades, but not so much in China. 

Foxconn wrote in an update that its fourth-quarter revenue in consumer electronics products, including smartphones, was "flattish" year-on-year. It noted the final report on fourth-quarter earnings will be published on March 14. 

On Tuesday, Barclays analyst Tim Long slashed Apple from "Equal-Weight" to "Underweight" with a slight downshift in price target, from $161 to $160. 

"We are still picking up a weakness on iPhone volumes and mix, as well as a lack of bounce-back in Macs, iPads, and wearables," Long said. 

Then, on Thursday, Piper Sandler analyst Harsh Kumar downgraded Apple from "Overweight" to "Neutral" with a price target of $205, down from $220. He, like Long, was concerned about sliding demand for iPhones in the first half of 2024. 

Apple shares are down 50bps in premarket trading in New York. On the week, shares are down more than 5.5%. 

Meanwhile, the percentage of bullish analysts covering Apple has hit a three-year low. 

What a terrible start of the year for Apple.