Supply chain experts have spoken.
Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook on Thursday assuaged investors’ fears that supply chain issues that are affecting industries globally are beginning to ameliorate for the iPhone maker. .
chef told CNBC he expects supply constraints to improve compared to the 12th quarter. And boy did Apple investors like that. Shares of Apple rose as much as 5% in after-hours trading on Thursday. (Stocks were up more than 4% Friday morning.)
Despite the excitement surrounding the rosy picture Cook has painted, his comments on supply chain improvements aren’t much different from some of his peers in the industry. Are from Intel arrive Teslaexecutives made similar predictions about improvements to the supply chain throughout 2022. The difference: Stocks of those companies decrease after incomewhile Apple gets a nice boost from investors.
Why?
Remember: Cook built his entire reputation by being a supply chain genius. That’s a big part of the reason he got the CEO position after Steve Jobs stepped down more than a decade ago. (Cooking is reported to be famous such as to negotiate portions down to the fraction of a penny.)
In fact, an analyst asked Cook on Thursday whether he was satisfied with Apple’s supply chain structure. Spoiler warning: Cook says he has Apple’s supply chain the way he wants it, even adding optimism to the idea his company can navigate Covid disruptions until troubles of the supply chain is resolved in the coming year.
However, Cook doesn’t say much that we haven’t heard.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk CEO said on his company earnings, Wednesday’s call was the company facing difficult supply constraints, especially for the computer chip that the car needs. But Musk still forecasts solid growth for Tesla throughout the year, even if the company can’t launch a new product.
Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger also recently had positive things to say about the supply chain. Last week, he said he expected “incremental improvements” to the supply chain throughout 2022, which is very similar to what Cook said on Thursday.
But things can be tougher for the smaller tech companies that make the hardware. Sonossmart speaker company, raised prices last year due to additional costs in the supply chain. Roku, a maker of streaming video equipment for TVs, warned investors last year that their supply chain costs were hurting profit margins. Companies like Xerox and Western Digital also had dire warnings for their supply chain this month.
Those are signals that smaller companies may have a harder time managing supply chains than giants like Apple. (Even with all those additional costs, Apple continues to deliver amazing profits.)
While it’s still early in earnings season, the story for tech companies so far is clear: Companies like Apple are well-positioned to insulate themselves from the worst of supply chain problems. response, and comments from Cook and his colleagues bode well for the industry as a whole in the coming year.
For now, however, markets have shown they trust Cook’s supply chain predictions more than anyone else.
Robert Hum of –CNBC contributed to this report.
