Shares of Apple (AAPL) are off almost 5% this morning on concerns about the company’s upcoming earnings report, due next Tuesday. iPhone 5 buzz has died down somewhat, and many smartphone buyers may be waiting for the Galaxy S4, the HTC One, or another Android competitor hitting the market this spring.
Analyst Peter Misek of Jeffries and Co. recently returned from a visit to the Asian factories that make Apple products, and he sees earnings come in at the low end of Apple’s guidance. Misek is also negative on the subsequent quarters, because he thinks Apple faces delays in production of upcoming iPhone models.
Like many analysts, Misek is expecting a low-cost iPhone 5S later this year, but he says production delays could push the launch back to the fall. Earlier this week, Bloomberg reported that Foxconn has started hiring workers in Zhengzhou to produce a new iPhone model, but it may already be too late to bring the product to market by this summer.
Misek noted that a new iPad could be the next Apple product to hit the market. He said he saw no evidence of iWatch production, and that he thinks a new flagship iPhone (iPhone 6) will not be ready until the middle of next year.
Software is another possible gating factor that may be delaying Apple product releases. Apple released new versions of iOS during the fall of 2012 and the fall of 2012, with both releases preceding the launch of a new iPhone by a few weeks. The company is now believed to be working on iOS 7, but some Cupertino insiders are suggesting that significant iOS design changes are holding up development.
Apple of course has the option to make Wall Street happy by returning more of its huge cash pile to investors while they wait for its next big product announcement. The company started paying a quarterly dividend last year.
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