Apple Results Hit By Supply Chain Challenges, Tim Cook Says Holiday Quarter Impact Will Be Worse

Supply chain challenges cost Apple Inc $6 billion in sales during the company’s fiscal fourth quarter, which missed Wall Street expectations, and Chief Executive Tim Cook said that the impact will be even worse during the current holiday sales quarter.

Cook told Reuters on Thursday the quarter ended September 25 had “larger than expected supply constraints” as well as pandemic-related manufacturing disruptions in Southeast Asia. While Apple had seen “significant improvement” by late October in those Southeast Asian facilities, the chip shortage has persisted and is now affecting “most of our products,” Cook said.

“We’re doing everything we can do to get more (chips) and also everything we can do operationally to make sure we’re moving just as fast as possible,” Cook said.

Cook said the company expects year-over-growth for its quarter ending in December. Analysts expect growth of 7.4% to $119.7 billion.