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Apple has warned that a severe shortage of key components will threaten device availability in the coming months, wiping more than 5% off the company’s share price in after-hours trading.
The warning came as the tech giant reported a 16% increase in revenue to $109bn (£81bn) for the June quarter, alongside a 26% jump in profits to $29bn, driven largely by a historic surge in demand for the iPhone 17 lineup.
However, outgoing chief executive Tim Cook told analysts that manufacturing bottlenecks for advanced-node microprocessors would constrain output going forward.
“We’re seeing some very significant constraints currently with limited flexibility in the supply chain to remedy it,” Cook said, noting that while Mac computer availability has already been affected, the squeeze is expected to spread to iPhones and iPads.
Cook attributed the shortfall to unforeseen consumer enthusiasm rather than a standard production drop. “This is not a regular supply issue, it’s a demand forecast issue, to be candid,” Cook added. “We’ve got a quarter ahead where we’ll be scrambling on the supply side.”
What does it mean for consumers?
For everyday buyers, the impending supply crunch carries several clear implications:
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Longer Wait Times and Stock Shortages: Popular configurations of flagship device, particularly the iPhone 17 and latest Mac models, are likely to see extended shipping delays and limited in-store stock as Apple scrambles to secure components.
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Fewer Retail Discounts: With high demand dramatically outstripping manufacturing capacity, retailers and carriers will face little incentive to offer aggressive promotional discounts on constrained hardware.
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Upgraded AI Features Still Arriving: Despite the hardware bottleneck, Apple continues to push forward with software rollouts. Cook confirmed that the public beta of its revamped, on-device Siri AI assistant remains a strategic focus, with ongoing negotiations aimed at bringing the feature to users simultaneously across regions including the European Union.
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Chris Price
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