iPhone 14 Pro ship times slip past Christmas weeks after Apple warned of production issues - CNBC

IPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max vessel times successful the U.S. person started slipping past Christmas, according to Apple's website and fiscal analysts.

The agelong hold times suggest that radical who bid a high-end iPhone present mightiness not person the instrumentality successful clip for the gift-giving holiday, perchance hurting Apple's fourth-quarter sales.

"We judge iPhone risks are expanding up of the each important Black Friday / Holiday selling play arsenic hold times successful the US are extended astatine ~34 days," UBS expert David Vogt wrote successful a enactment to clients connected Wednesday.

On Wednesday, checks by CNBC connected Apple's U.S. website showed a shipping day of Dec. 27 for respective iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max models.

"While hold times had steadily moved higher successful the anterior surveys, the astir caller information has deed an utmost level successful our view," Vogt wrote.

Sometimes Apple mails products earlier their estimated vessel date, and immoderate retailers similar wireless carriers mightiness person much banal than Apple.

However, Apple's little costly iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus person nary hold times connected Apple's website and tin beryllium purchased immediately, which suggests that immoderate consumers mightiness determine to commercialized down successful bid to get their devices nether the Christmas histrion connected time.

The elongated hold times travel aft Apple gave an antithetic informing earlier this month that Covid restrictions astatine a Foxconn works successful Zhengzhou, China would effect successful "significantly reduced capacity."

"However, we present expect little iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max shipments than we antecedently anticipated and customers volition acquisition longer hold times to person their caller products," Apple said.

The Zhengzhou installation is sometimes called "iPhone City" due to the fact that it is wherever a batch of Apple's last assembly for its devices is done. It's been grappling with lockdowns nether China's zero-Covid policy, resulting successful labour issues arsenic immoderate workers are operating nether a "closed loop" wherever they isolate successful dorms and factories separated from the extracurricular world.

Foxconn said earlier this period that it was moving with the "government successful concerted effort to stamp retired the pandemic and resume accumulation to its afloat capableness arsenic rapidly arsenic possible."

The Zhengzhou installation accounts for 80% of full iPhone accumulation capacity, Jefferies expert Kyle McNealy said successful a enactment connected Wednesday, citing Counterpoint Research.

He estimates that Apple would suffer astir $1 cardinal successful gross and $0.01 successful EPS for each week the installation is locked down. Analysts expect $125.9 cardinal successful income during the December quarter, according to FactSet.

"It's prudent to instrumentality a blimpish attack to modeling the caller COVID related manufacturing
disruptions fixed specified a ample portion of Apple's footprint is successful the affected region," McNealy wrote.

CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this story.