Smartphones Looking Good In 2024 -- November 22, 2023

Locator: 46138AAPL. 

From Martin Peers today:

Hey, here’s some good news for Apple, Samsung and various smartphone component manufacturers.

The smartphone market is growing again. That’s according to research firm Counterpoint, which estimated that sales rose 5% last month compared to a year earlier, the first month to show year-on-year growth in smartphone sales in more than two years.

That’s consistent with other data points out there. Research firm IDC, for instance, which estimated the market fell 11.3% last year and about the same amount in the first half of this year, reported recently that the rate of decline slowed to just 0.1% in the third quarter. It has predicted a return to growth in 2024.

Morgan Stanley this month also projected that smartphone shipments would grow next year, citing data showing “record upgrade intentions”—lots of people want snazzy new devices—fueled by the emergence of more powerful phones to deliver AI services.

The bank argues that now is the time for investors to buy global smartphone stocks.

Of course, the market had probably already assumed a recovery was coming, so it may be a little late to jump in. Apple stock hasn’t exactly suffered much—it’s up 48% this year. Even dominant mobile chip supplier Qualcomm, whose revenues tumbled 19% in the year to September, has seen shares rise 18% this year. Still, better late than never.

Speaking of AI, ChatGPT, OpenAI, and Apple, one may want to take a look at this.