In a recent report to investors, Goldman Sachs analyst Rod Hall issued a forecast on the availability of iPhone 13 series smartphones and M1 Pro/M1 Max series MacBook Pro laptops after the holiday shopping season. First of all, the delivery time of the iPhone 13 Pro model has returned to the level of mid-December 2021. The delivery time of the iPhone 13 Pro Max models remains at the level of 3 to 5 days.
As for the MacBook Pro, analysts found no change in the delivery time. The supply-demand balance mode of this product line is somewhat similar to that of the iPhone 13, except that the supply of the MacBook Pro is still limited. Among them, the delivery time of the M1 Pro chip is slowly improving, but the delivery time of the M1 Max is still becoming tenser under roughly the same circumstances.
Rod Hall believes that the time-consuming chip supply and transportation will be the key to improving iPhone delivery or maintaining small growth. The fact that the delivery of the M1 Pro is being eased indicates that the chip has a higher guarantee than the M1 Max.
In summary, analysts maintain Apple’s 12-month target stock price at US$142 (based on their forecast of 27 times earnings per share for 5-8 quarters). For reference, the current Apple stock price is $179, and Rod Hall has been predicting low for several months.