By Sam Boughedda
JPMorgan analysts maintained an Overweight rating on Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares in a note Tuesday, telling investors supply for the iPhone Pro models continues to improve slowly.
"In Week 16 of our Apple Product Availability Tracker, supply for the iPhone Pro models continues to improve slowly, with lead times moderating further in China, and a majority of SKUs are now available for in-store pickup across all geographies, including China for the first time since product launch," the analysts wrote.
They added that lead times for the Pro models are now tracking in line with lead times seen before the Covid-19 outbreak in Zhengzhou, China, indicating that "supply is improving and inching slowly towards parity with demand." Although they note that typically "Apple is much further along in reaching parity between iPhone demand and supply in the year's past at this time in the year."
"U.S. Tracker shows lead times stabilize for Pro models. In the U.S., lead times for the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus ticked up to 5 days each (vs. 1 day prior), which is in-line with timing for iPhone 13 and 13 mini last year, while Pro and Pro Max lead times tracked at 27 days (vs. 25 days prior)," they added. "Relative to in-store, iPhone 14 and 14 Plus are available for same-day pickup, and notably, most SKUs of the Pro and Pro Max models are now available for same-day pickup, a significant improvement relative to no available SKUs 2 weeks ago."
In addition, the analyst said JPMorgan's China Tracker shows lead times have moderated by 9 days, with China base iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus lead times increasing to 6 days.
In Europe, the analysts said Germany and U.K. lead times are stable, with "delivery timing for the 14 and 14 Plus tracked to 5-6 days (vs. 1-2 days prior), in line with lead times for the 13 and 13 mini last year."
Apple shares are down 1.7% at the time of writing.