The impact of the Covid-19 epidemic could cause the smartphone market to continue to decline in the first half of 2020.
After more than a month of outbreak, the Covid-19 epidemic caused by the new corona pneumonia virus has affected every aspect. Smartphone market has "absorbed" partly impact when a series of large exhibitions are canceled, factories closed making production lines stagnant.
Apple is one of the names heavily influenced by the majority of manufacturing plants located in China. After a period of total closure, up to now some production units have been re-operated but the number of employees coming to work is only about 10%. Because the virus is still extremely unpredictable, factories have taken many safety measures to ensure the virus does not spread.
In terms of business, it is certain that smartphone sales will be affected by the disease. Statistics from IDC forecast that smartphone output in the first half of 2020 could decline by 10.6% from the same period last year, and by 2.3% if calculated for the whole 2020.
Before the outbreak, many predicted that the 2020 smartphone market would grow after a bleak time, but the evolution of Covid-19 made all forecasts change.
In its fourth-quarter financial report, Apple targets revenue of $ 63-67 billion in the first quarter of 2020. CEO Tim Cook said the $ 4 billion difference depends on the disease outbreak caused by the corona virus.
TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo also determined that Apple would have to cut iPhone shipments by 10% in the first quarter of 2020 because of Covid-19. He said it was difficult to forecast iPhone production activities in the second quarter because of unpredictable virus developments.
Supply chain disruptions are a major headache for manufacturers. There are also difficulties coming from the logistics chain, regulations restricting travel from companies. It is expected that production will stabilize until the third quarter. Particularly for the Chinese market, estimated smartphone sales in the first quarter in the country will decrease 40% compared to the same period last year.
According to CNBC, shares on February 24 of technology companies belonging to the "Big Tech" group were severely affected in the context of the Covid-19 epidemic is changing unpredictably globally.
Specifically, technology companies belonging to the "Big Tech" group, including Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft and parent company Alphabet, have lost a total of more than $ 238 billion in market capitalization.
By 2021, everything is expected to return to normal with an estimated global growth of 6% thanks to the popularity of 5G smartphones.
