December 13, 2022: -On Wednesday, Morgan Stanley decreased its Apple iPhone shipment forecast for this month’s quarter by 3 million units to account for much slow production in China. The company had already cut shipment anticipations by 6 million units in November.

Morgan Stanley anticipates Apple to ship nearly 75.5 million units, a decrease from its original forecast of 85 million. It is coming as Apple suppliers face turmoil in China.

In the previous month, factory employees are clashing with security personnel of the Zhengzhou plant, the most significant iPhone factory in the world, run by Apple’s assembly partner Foxconn. A Covid-19 outbreak also hit the factory in October, causing workers to flee the facility as the firm moved to control the outbreak by isolating infected people.

Morgan Stanley analysts added that the unrest would historically impact Apple’s biggest quarter, bolstered by the holiday shopping season. Apple reported $123.9 billion in its first financial quarter this year, up 11% over 2021. The analysts anticipate Apple will report nearly $120 billion in quarterly revenue, which results in a 3% impact from the slower production.

Shares of Apple decreased around 1% early on Wednesday.

Despite the anticipated dip in shipments and revenue, the analysts added that the forecast doesn’t need to reflect slowing demand.

“By now, it’s well aware by investors that the Dec Q will be challenged because of the iPhone supply shortages, and hence the most important near-term debate is how much of the lost value from December is perishable vs deferrable,” they noted on Wednesday note.

“We trust demand for the iPhone 14 Pro/Pro Max stays solid, supporting that lost market in December is likely to be deferred into March than destroyed.”