Apple released its quarterly figures for the third fiscal quarter of 2021 yesterday evening. However, with a view to the fourth quarter of 2021 (third calendar quarter), Apple warned that there will be supply bottlenecks, especially for the iPhone and iPad.
During Apple's conference call with analysts yesterday, CEO Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri talked about supply bottlenecks that could affect Apple in Q4 2021. The iPhone and iPad in particular are likely to be affected by these supply bottlenecks. Maestri explained:
We expect supply constraints in the September quarter to be greater than those we experienced in the June quarter, with constraints primarily affecting the iPhone and iPad.
iPhone & iPad supply shortages: Will the iPhone 13 be hard to get?
Despite the delivery restrictions said Apple said it still expects "very strong double-digit growth" during the quarter. But the growth rate is expected to be lower than the 36% growth Apple saw from Q3 2020 versus Q3 2021. As a reminder, Apple's fiscal Q4 includes the months of July, August, and September. Apple is expected to announce new iPhone 13 models in September. Interestingly, this is not the first time Apple has warned of supply shortages. Last quarter, the company said iPad and Mac shortages could cost the company between three and four billion dollars in revenue. Today, Maestri explained that the impact will end up being closer to the lower end of that range but that the situation will worsen in the fourth quarter. (Photo by Unsplash / Daniel Romero)