Apple manufacturer Foxconn sees second quarterly fall, unlikely connected to iPhones

Foxconn posted disappointing net profits for the June quarter on Monday, though the results may not be directly connected to its biggest client, Apple.

Foxconn recorded profits of $567.25 million, down from about $580.8 million a year ago, Reuters said. The figure was even further below a $711.45 million mean estimate compiled from nine analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.

Apple could potentially be a factor given its outsized importance, but the company shipped 41.3 million iPhones during the same quarter, a small but significant increase year-over-year. Apple's increased shipments have probably improved Foxconn's results compared to if Apple's shipments remained static.

It is likely that the reduced profits stem from operations relating to its other clients. While Apple is a major customer, Foxconn also assembles devices for a number of other firms, with one or more equally likely to have negatively impacted the company's finances.

At least some iPhone production has been diverted to Wistron, and that firm may even be making a portion of this fall's new iPhones. There's also the potential that Foxconn has had to spend extra on equipment and hiring to keep up with Apple's demands.

This fall is expected to see the launch of three new iPhones: 5.8- and 6.5-inch OLED models, plus a cheaper 6.1-inch LCD device. All of these should have edge-to-edge displays and TrueDepth and Face ID, even though the latter is thought to have been responsible for the delayed launch of the iPhone X. The phone arrived in early November, well after the Sept. 22 ship date for the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus.

8 Comments

lkrupp 10521 comments · 19 Years

About 6 years ago

Ah, the supply chain hocus-pocus analysis rears its ugly head once more. Foxconn’s profits are down, Foxconn is one of Apple’s primary suppliers, therefore Apple is failing. 2+2=5 is simple math isn’t it?

lkrupp 10521 comments · 19 Years

About 6 years ago

AppleInsider said:

This fall is expected to see the launch of three new iPhones: 5.8- and 6.5-inch OLED models, plus a cheaper 6.1-inch LCD device. All of these should have edge-to-edge displays and TrueDepth and Face ID, even though the latter is thought to have been responsible for the delayed launch of the iPhone X.

I take issue with the term “expected” used in this article. Rumors are just that, rumors. Expecting things from Apple is precisely why analysts and pundits fall on their asses all the time. These rumors are nice as long as they are recognized as the unsubstantiated rumors they are. Turning rumors into expectations does not end well, ever, when Apple is in the equation. Rumors are the result of the fertile minds of armchair CEOs, pundits who think they know, and self-appointed hardware experts. “It would be a simple matter for Apple to double the battery size and still keep the thin design paradigm” go the comments in forums like AI. Yeah, right. Expectations also contribute greatly to disappointment when they don’t materialize. How many times has Apple released a product that is immediately declared disappointing because it didn’t confirm or meet the expectations of the rumors flying around before its release?

Finally, most of these expectations involve the word “cheaper” don’t they; a cheaper iPhone, a cheaper MacBook, a cheaper iPad, a cheaper headless Mac.

maestro64 5029 comments · 19 Years

About 6 years ago

The Issue Foxconn is having is due to the fact that Foxconn is allocating so much resources to Apple and they having a hard time giving other customers the attention they need.

It looks like Foxconn is loosing more and more customers due to all the resource they have to give Apple. Even Apple is beginning to allocate production to other contract manufacturers.

Rayz2016 6957 comments · 8 Years

About 6 years ago

maestro64 said:

The Issue Foxconn is having is due to the fact that Foxconn is allocating so much resources to Apple and they having a hard time giving other customers the attention they need.

It looks like Foxconn is loosing more and more customers due to all the resource they have to give Apple. Even Apple is beginning to allocate production to other contract manufacturers.

Interesting. Got any links for that?