{"id":14184,"date":"2025-04-26T20:20:27","date_gmt":"2025-04-26T20:20:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/?p=14184"},"modified":"2025-04-26T20:20:27","modified_gmt":"2025-04-26T20:20:27","slug":"apple-iphone-assembly-in-india-wont-cushion-china-tariffs-moffett","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/?p=14184","title":{"rendered":"Apple iPhone assembly in India won&#8217;t cushion China tariffs: Moffett"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"NewsShowArticle-ArticleBody-6\" data-module=\"ArticleBody\" data-test=\"articleBody-2\" data-analytics=\"NewsShowArticle-articleBody-6-2\"><span class=\"HighlightShare-hidden\" style=\"top:0;left:0\"><\/span><\/p>\n<div role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"Placeholder-ArticleBody-Video-108136964\">\n<div role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" id=\"Placeholder-ArticleBody-Video-108136964\" class=\"PlaceHolder-wrapper\" data-vilynx-id=\"7000374015\" data-test=\"VideoPlaceHolder\">\n<div class=\"InlineVideo-videoEmbed\" id=\"InlineVideo-0\" data-test=\"InlineVideo\">\n<div class=\"InlineVideo-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"InlineVideo-inlineThumbnailContainer\"><span class=\"InlineVideo-videoButton\"><\/span><span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"group\">\n<p>Leading analyst Craig Moffett suggests any plans to move U.S. iPhone assembly to India is unrealistic.<\/p>\n<p>Moffett, ranked as a top analyst multiple times by Institutional Investor, sent a memo to clients on Friday after the Financial Times reported <span class=\"QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer\" data-test=\"QuoteInBody\" id=\"NewsShowArticle-QuoteInBody-1\">Apple<span class=\"QuoteInBody-inlineButton\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer\" id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\" data-analytics-id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\"><button class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistButton\" aria-label=\"Add To Watchlist\" data-testid=\"dropdown-btn\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag\"><\/span><\/button><\/span><\/span><\/span> was aiming to shift production toward India from China by the end of next year.<\/p>\n<p>He&#8217;s questioning how a move could bring down costs tied to tariffs because the iPhone components would still be made in China.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;You have a tremendous menu of problems created by tariffs, and moving to India doesn&#8217;t solve all the problems. Now granted, it helps to some degree,&#8221; the MoffettNathanson partner and senior managing director told CNBC&#8217;s &#8220;Fast Money&#8221; on Friday. &#8220;I would question how that&#8217;s going to work.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Moffett contends it&#8217;s not so easy to diversify to India \u2014 telling clients Apple&#8217;s supply chain would still be anchored in China and would likely face resistance.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The bottom line is a global trade war is a two-front battle, impacting costs and sales. Moving assembly to India might (and we emphasize might) help with the former. The latter may ultimately be the bigger issue,&#8221; he wrote to clients.<\/p>\n<p>Moffett cut his Apple price target on Monday to $141 from $184 a share. It implies a 33% drop from Friday&#8217;s close. The price target is also the Street low, according to FactSet.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t think of myself as the biggest Apple bear,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I think quite highly of Apple. My concern about Apple has been the valuation more than the company.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Moffett has had a &#8220;sell&#8221; rating on Apple since Jan. 7. Since then, the company&#8217;s shares are down about 14%.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;None of this is because Apple is a bad company. They still have a great balance sheet [and] a great consumer franchise,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It&#8217;s just the reality of there are no good answers when you are a product company, and your products are going to be significantly tariffed, and you&#8217;re heading into a market that is likely to have at least some deceleration in consumer demand because of the macro economy.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Moffett notes Apple also isn&#8217;t getting help from its carriers to cushion the blow of tariffs.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;You also have the demand destruction that&#8217;s created by potentially higher prices. Remember, you had <span class=\"QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer\" data-test=\"QuoteInBody\" id=\"NewsShowArticle-QuoteInBody-3\">AT&amp;T<span class=\"QuoteInBody-inlineButton\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer\" id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\" data-analytics-id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\"><button class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistButton\" aria-label=\"Add To Watchlist\" data-testid=\"dropdown-btn\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag\"><\/span><\/button><\/span><\/span><\/span>, <span class=\"QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer\" data-test=\"QuoteInBody\" id=\"NewsShowArticle-QuoteInBody-4\">Verizon<span class=\"QuoteInBody-inlineButton\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer\" id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\" data-analytics-id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\"><button class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistButton\" aria-label=\"Add To Watchlist\" data-testid=\"dropdown-btn\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag\"><\/span><\/button><\/span><\/span><\/span> and <span class=\"QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer\" data-test=\"QuoteInBody\" id=\"NewsShowArticle-QuoteInBody-5\">T. Mobile<span class=\"QuoteInBody-inlineButton\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer\" id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\" data-analytics-id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\"><button class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistButton\" aria-label=\"Add To Watchlist\" data-testid=\"dropdown-btn\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag\"><\/span><\/button><\/span><\/span><\/span> all this week come out and say we&#8217;re not going to underwrite the additional cost of tariff [on] handsets,&#8221; he added. &#8220;The consumer is going to have to pay for that. So, you&#8217;re going to have some demand destruction that&#8217;s going to show up in even longer holding periods and slower upgrade rates \u2014 all of which probably trims estimates [in] next year&#8217;s consensus.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>According to Moffett, the backlash against Apple in China over U.S. tariffs will also hurt iPhone sales.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a very real problem,&#8221; Moffett said. &#8220;Volumes are really going to the Huaweis and the Vivos and the local competitors in China rather than to Apple.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Apple stock is coming off a winning week \u2014 up more than 6%. It comes ahead of the iPhone maker&#8217;s quarterly earnings report due next Thursday after the market close.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ArticleBody-blockquote\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbcevents.com\/fast-money-live-june-2025\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Join us<\/a> for the ultimate, exclusive, in-person, interactive event with Melissa Lee and the traders for &#8220;Fast Money&#8221; Live at the Nasdaq MarketSite in Times Square on Thursday, June 5<sup>th<\/sup>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"InlineImage-imageEmbed InlineImage-inlineInfographic\" id=\"ArticleBody-InlineImage-108132848\" data-test=\"InlineImage\">\n<div class=\"InlineImage-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"InlineImage-imagePlaceholder\" style=\"padding-bottom:56.17977528089888%\">\n<div><button class=\"InlineImage-closeEnlargedImage\"><svg width=\"20\" height=\"20\" viewbox=\"0 0 20 20\" fill=\"#002F6C\" aria-labelledby=\"title desc\" role=\"img\" focusable=\"false\" data-analytic-id=\"expand-icon\" class=\"InlineImage-background\"><title>Zoom In Icon<\/title><desc>Arrows pointing outwards<\/desc><circle cx=\"10\" cy=\"10\" r=\"10\" fill=\"white\" stroke=\"#002F6C\"><\/circle><path d=\"M9.20185 10.7982C8.96049 10.5568 8.57037 10.5568 8.32901 10.7982L5.67901 13.4482V11.2346C5.67901 10.8938 5.40308 10.6173 5.06173 10.6173C4.72037 10.6173 4.44444 10.8938 4.44444 11.2346V14.9383C4.44444 15.279 4.72037 15.5556 5.06173 15.5556H8.76543C9.10679 15.5556 9.38271 15.279 9.38271 14.9383C9.38271 14.5975 9.10679 14.321 8.76543 14.321H6.55185L9.20185 11.671C9.44321 11.4296 9.44321 11.0395 9.20185 10.7982ZM14.9383 4.44446H11.2346C10.8932 4.44446 10.6173 4.721 10.6173 5.06174C10.6173 5.40248 10.8932 5.67903 11.2346 5.67903H13.4481L10.7981 8.32903C10.5568 8.57038 10.5568 8.96051 10.7981 9.20187C10.9185 9.32224 11.0765 9.38273 11.2346 9.38273C11.3926 9.38273 11.5506 9.32224 11.671 9.20187L14.321 6.55187V8.76545C14.321 9.10619 14.5969 9.38273 14.9383 9.38273C15.2796 9.38273 15.5556 9.10619 15.5556 8.76545V5.06174C15.5556 4.721 15.2796 4.44446 14.9383 4.44446Z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2025\/04\/26\/apple-iphone-assembly-in-india-wont-cushion-china-tariffs-moffett.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Leading analyst Craig Moffett suggests any plans to move U.S. iPhone assembly to India is unrealistic. Moffett, ranked as a top analyst multiple times by Institutional Investor, sent a memo to clients on Friday after the Financial Times reported Apple was aiming to shift production toward India from China by the end of next year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14185,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[196],"tags":[246,5866,700,3539,4001,4207,5867,178,2226],"class_list":{"0":"post-14184","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-finance-news","8":"tag-apple","9":"tag-assembly","10":"tag-china","11":"tag-cushion","12":"tag-india","13":"tag-iphone","14":"tag-moffett","15":"tag-tariffs","16":"tag-wont"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14184","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14184"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14184\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14185"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14184"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}