Apple (AAPL) Stock Down 0.55% while Company Considers Delaying iPhone 12 Launch

Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) stock dropped by 0.55% to trade at $245.52 on Wednesday after a report by Nikkei Asian Review said that Apple is preparing the ground to possibly delay the launch of its iPhone. The publication went ahead to cite that the delay is due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic which is a huge threat to the global demand. Besides, it is also disrupting the company’s product development schedules.

As a result, as of March 25, at 16:57 EDT, the stocks showed signs of continuing with the downtrend that has dominated the stock for the past two months. Apple (AAPL) stock has wiped out all the gains which had been made in the last quarter of 2019. Having retested a major support level at $220, the stock price might consolidate if the coronavirus stimulus package comes into play to rescue the market at large.

At the moment of writing, in the premarket, AAPL stock is falling and has reached the level of $243.00 (-1.03%).

Coronavirus Ailing Apple, Its iPhone Plans and AAPL Stock

Apple has its supply chain mainly in China, with assembly factories enjoying the supply of China’s human resources. However, since the onset of a novel coronavirus, the daily operations were interrupted in a significant way. As local authorities in China rushed to lockdown the worst-hit areas, a lot of multinational companies were closed for weeks. 

This greatly hampered Apple’s dates, as it has a tradition to release a new product every year as it approaches the last quarter. iPhone 12 and other products which are said to support 5G network were to be launched either in September or October. However, this may not be achievable due to all factors in play, whereby the company is looking at several months’ delay to launch the product.

This will be a huge blow to the company that competes with other major mobile manufacturers like Samsung, which already unveiled their flagship products earlier in the year. With the company having advised its employees to work remotely, the delay might not be inevitable.

A similar prediction of product delay had been made by JPMorgan analyst, who predicted that Apple could be looking at either one or two months’ delay in the launch of the new iPhone. Apple has received a huge blow on the supply chain, as it year-over-year dropped by over 38% in February, according to a research firm, Strategy Analytics.

With coronavirus now gaining more traction in the United States and Europe where it commands a huge market, unless the company gets innovative, more volatility on the downside might be inevitable.