On July 16th, the Apple concept sector in the A-share market was relatively active. As of the close of the day, 107 out of 128 Apple concept stocks had seen their stock prices rise.
On the news front, on July 15th Eastern Time, Apple's closing price hit a new historical high, bringing its total market value to $3.59 trillion. According to a report by research firm Morgan Stanley, it is predicted that Apple's iPhone shipments will exceed 500 million units in the next two years, and are expected to reach 235 million units in the fiscal year 2025.
The layout of top mobile phone brands such as Apple in the AI field will accelerate the arrival of a new wave of mobile phones, and related enterprises in the industry chain are expected to fully benefit. The landing of AI on the end side may bring about an increase in the shipment volume and value of products in computing power, storage, heat dissipation and other links Li Xuan, a senior analyst in the technology industry at Haitong Securities, told Securities Daily reporters that currently, Apple's competitive advantage in the AI field remains to be observed, as it faces multiple competitive pressures from other brands in the terminal market alone. Industry chain companies still need to make a lot of preparations.
Apple's AI layout attracts attention
The rising prosperity of the consumer electronics industry, coupled with Apple's recent actions in the AI field, has attracted widespread market attention.
At this year's Global Developers Conference, Apple unveiled its long-awaited Apple Intelligence model and suite, finally unveiling its AI layout. This move has greatly boosted market expectations for iPhone sales.
According to information from the supply chain, Apple has added iPhone 16 related stock twice in the past month, and optimistically estimates that the total stock target for new phones after the addition is about 95 million units.
Meanwhile, Apple announced a partnership with OpenAI in June 2024, actively integrating ChatGPT and expecting further improvements in generative AI capabilities.
The AI model and suite launched by Apple this time marks a 'comprehensive evolution' of Apple's AI. AI capabilities are expected to gradually be integrated and applied in the entire Apple ecosystem, bringing about a new system level Apple AI ecosystem Li Xuan said.
In addition, data released by the international data company IDC shows that Apple's global ownership will reach 840 million units in 2023, with a replacement cycle of 3.6 years. Guojin Securities released a research report stating that Apple's software and hardware innovation is expected to drive a new wave of mobile phones.
Hu Yang, Chief Analyst of the Electronics Industry at Huaxi Securities, stated that with the recovery of consumer electronics demand and the entry of AI smartphones into the primitive stage, the era of AI smartphones will accelerate. On the one hand, AI smartphones will drive the upgrade of chip components on the mobile phone end. On the other hand, AI smartphones will be linked with other AI intelligent terminals to bring richer experiences and more obvious synergistic effects.
Can it boost the industrial chain
Despite the renewed activity of Apple concept stocks, in fact, the overall performance of Guolian listed companies is still in a state of "ice and fire". According to data, as of July 16th, among the 40 Apple concept listed companies that have disclosed their performance forecasts for the first half of the year on the A-share market, 28 are expected to see a year-on-year increase in net profit during the reporting period.
The industry expects that with more orders from Apple's related supply chain, it will help drive the performance improvement of related companies.
Several fruit chain listed companies have recently introduced their market and self layout to the public. Lansi Technology stated that its downstream customers currently have a strong demand for mid to high end new products. At the same time, the company is exploring and exploring new opportunities brought by the rapid development of artificial intelligence; Hasson Corporation stated that it is planning to acquire a supplier of structural components for Apple's industrial chain; Xinwangda and other companies have stated that they expect the application of AI on mobile phones to drive the recovery of consumer electronics demand, and the company is following up on its layout.
Guoyuan Securities released a research report stating that Apple's shift towards an AI ecosystem and computing power is expected to drive user demand for device upgrades and hardware upgrades. Guotai Junan stated that it is expected that the peak season for consumer electronics in the third quarter of this year will drive demand upward in all aspects, including mobile phones, PCs, and general servers. I am optimistic about the performance of digital chip companies in the Apple industry chain, as well as downstream companies in the storage and server industries.
Apple's layout in the field of AI smartphones has driven the activity of the entire industry chain. The binding between top mobile phone manufacturers and AI model giants will greatly increase the penetration rate of AI big model products. Industry chain companies are also deploying ahead of schedule. However, Apple's AI deployment is relatively slow, and AI terminals are still waiting for market testing. The real performance boost of industry chain companies also depends on the release of their diversified business performance Mairui Asset Management CEO Wang Haoyu told Securities Daily reporters.