Apple Stock (AAPL) Advances as it Deepens Indian Smartphone Ties

U.S. tech giant Apple (AAPL) has teamed up with Indian conglomerate Tata Group to manage repairs of its iPhones and MacBook devices in India. The news sent its shares higher in pre-market trading.

Tata Together

According to a Reuters report, Tata is taking over the repairs work from ICT Service Management Solutions, an Indian unit of Taiwan’s Mistron, and will carry out the work at its iPhone assembly campus in Karnataka.

The tie-up deepens Apple’s partnership with Tata. The Indian group already works with Apple assembling iPhones both for local and foreign markets at three facilities in southern India. One of these facilities also produces some iPhone components.

It also ramps up Apple’s exposure to the rapidly expanding Indian market.

Indian Shift

According to figures from Counterpoint Research, India is now the world’s second-largest smartphone market. It is seeing a surge in iPhone sales, with around 11 million units sold in 2023—up from just 1% market share in 2020 to 7% last year.

The more mobile phones are sold then, given the nature of their use, the more demand will grow for repair and other technical services.

“This partnership signals Apple’s growing confidence in Tata,” said Prabhu Ram, vice president at Cybermedia Research. “It could also lay the foundation for Apple to begin selling refurbished devices in India, similar to its model in the U.S.”

Apple is targeting more growth in India, both sales and manufacturing, in response to the tariff trade war between the U.S. and China, where most of its iPhones are currently made.

Is AAPL a Good Stock to Buy Now?

On TipRanks, AAPL has a Moderate Buy consensus based on 16 Buy, 9 Hold and 4 Sell ratings. Its highest price target is $300. AAPL stock’s consensus price target is $228.65 implying a 12.74% upside.

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