Apple’s Foldable iPhone Could Wrestle With Supply Chain Issues. What That Means for AAPL Stock.

Apple’s Foldable iPhone Could Wrestle With Supply Chain Issues. What That Means for AAPL Stock. Aditya Raghunath Tue, September 8, 2026 at 5:44 PM GMT+2 5 min read AAPL Apple (AAPL) is about to launch its first folding iPhone.

But reports suggest the hardware giant may be able to make only a few hundred of these phones a day at launch. For a company that usually ships iPhones by the tens of millions, the forecast is a tiny number. The timing puts extra pressure on Apple's Sept.

9 event, where the company is expected to unveil the foldable device alongside two new iPhone 18 models. Investors want to know if this new device will move the needle for Apple's stock price and iPhone sales, or if it will stay a niche product. More News from Barchart Amazon Layoffs Continue: How to Play AMZN Stock Now in September 2026 Chevron Is Expanding Operations in Venezuela.

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Get exclusive insights with the FREE Barchart Brief newsletter. Subscribe now for quick, incisive midday market analysis you won't find anywhere else. Citi analyst Atif Malik said in a note cited by Investing.

com that Apple's foldable, which he expects to be called the iPhone Ultra, will likely start above $2,000. He also expects the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max to cost about $200 more than last year's models. Higher prices can boost revenue per phone.

But they can also scare off some buyers, especially in a brand-new, unproven device category for Apple. www. barchart.

com iPhone Sales Hit Records Last Quarter Apple recently wrapped up a strong quarter. In fiscal Q3 of 2026 (ended in June), it reported revenue of $109. 4 billion, up 16% year over year.

Notably, iPhone sales rose 22% to $54. 3 billion. CEO Tim Cook, who recently stepped down, said strong demand for the iPhone 17 lineup drove growth.

Further, Cook pointed to supply constraints tied to advanced chip production, saying the issue was less about suppliers and more about demand outpacing expectations. Mac sales grew even faster, up 29% to $10. 4 billion, another record.

Apple also warned that supply problems affecting iPhone, Mac, and iPad would worsen in the current quarter. The backdrop sets the stage for a foldable launch that may be squeezed by tight component supply before it ramps up. Foldable iPhone Production Faces Headwinds Here is where the supply chain story gets specific.

Early foldable iPhone production is reportedly running at only a few hundred units a day, according to a Nikkei Asia report cited by Stocktwits. Gurufocus and Dealroom. co both reported similar figures, pointing to Apple's strict quality standards as manufacturing partners work through production issues.

Story Continues Analyst Ming Chi Kuo of TF International Securities estimates Apple will ship somewhere between 7 million and 8 million foldable units in the second half of 2026, according to Gurufocus. But he expects only 500,000 to 1 million of those units to ship in the third quarter, per the same report. Kuo also pegs pricing between $2,300 and $2,500, well above Apple's usual flagship phones.

For comparison, Kuo expects Apple to ship somewhere between 20 million and 22 million iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max units in that same third quarter. The gap shows just how small the foldable launch may be next to Apple's main lineup, at least at first. As per Investing.

com Citi expects Apple to build 7. 5 million foldable units in the second half of 2026, followed by 4 million more in the first quarter of 2027. Citi also forecasts 246 million total iPhone shipments for all of 2026, up about 1% from the year before.

Limited supply could work in Apple's favor for a while, given that scarcity tends to make a new product feel more premium and exclusive. The risk is that if Apple cannot ramp production quickly, the foldable device will not drive revenue. Apple Stock Price Target Gets Cut Not every analyst is optimistic about how the launch will play out for the stock.

Investing. com reports: KeyBanc Capital Markets kept an Underweight rating on Apple and a price target of $250, compared with the current price of $320. The firm warned that Apple's Sept.

9 event could become a negative catalyst if pricing spooks buyers or squeezes margins. KeyBanc expects the iPhone 18 Pro to jump $150 to $1,249 and the Pro Max to rise $200 to $1,399, with the foldable priced around $2,199. The firm expects total iPhone 18 builds of about 80 million units across the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026 and first quarter of fiscal 2027, down from roughly 91 million units a year earlier, largely because there is no base iPhone 18 model this cycle.

Moreover, KeyBanc noted that Apple shares have historically dipped around iPhone announcements. The stock has averaged a decline of about 0. 72% on announcement day over the past five years, and about 1.

22% five trading days later, per Investing. com. What To Watch at Apple's September Event Investors should watch a few things when Apple takes the stage.

Keep an eye on the actual starting price of the foldable, how much supply Apple says it can deliver early on, and whether the company gives any hints about ramping production through the holidays. Winners could emerge further down the supply chain too. Citi expects Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) to benefit as the sole supplier of Apple's new A20 chip, built on 2-nanometer technology.

Amphenol (APH) is also expected to gain from supplying hinge components for the foldable device. A high price tag near $2,500 could lift average selling prices if Apple scales up manufacturing. But if the supply crunch drags on, that upside may have to wait until 2027 to really show up in the numbers.

Out of the 41 analysts covering AAPL stock, 21 recommend "Strong Buy", three recommend "Moderate Buy", 13 recommend "Hold", two recommend "Moderate Sell", and two recommend "Strong Sell". The average Apple stock price target is $329, above the current price of $320. www.

barchart. com On the date of publication, Aditya Raghunath did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes.

This article was originally published on Barchart.