Apple iPhone Sales in China Rebounded in May, Says Analyst

iPhone sales in China were up a whopping 13% year-over-year during the month of May — reports Seeking Alpha.

As a result, Apple clawed some market share away from local competition. iPhones made up 16.4% of smartphone sales in the region in May, an increase of 3.2% year-over-year. Investment firm UBS said on Tuesday that iPhone shipments in China for the month “notably” outperformed its expectations.

“As such, we believe our 42 million June quarter iPhone estimate (down 9% [year-over-year], in line with April/May) should already capture the potential disruptions minimizing downside risk ahead of earnings next month,” said UBS analyst David Vogt.

Vogt currently has a buy rating and a $185 USD price target on Apple shares. UBS decided against amending its 42 million projection for quarterly global iPhone sales despite the “solid” rally in China last month. The firm did, however, say that its forecast “could be conservative.”

The Cupertino, California-based tech giant is slated to report Q3 earnings next month. In the previous quarter, Apple posted a record revenue of $97.3 billion.

Apple appears to be expecting a slowdown in demand for smartphones and consumer electronics this year. A recent report indicated Cupertino has asked suppliers to stagnate iPhone production at 220 million units for 2022, which is roughly the same as last year.

As of writing, shares of Apple are up 3.27% on Tuesday.

In addition, key Apple supplier TSMC predicts a drop in demand for consumer electronics in general.