Demand for Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone 17 Is Starting to Moderate, Says JPMorgan Chase

Lead times for Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone 17 series, an indication of demand, are beginning to ease, according to JPMorgan Chase (JPM).

Samik Chatterjee, a top five-star rated analyst, says that supply is starting to catch-up with demand and that “lead times across the iPhone 17 series moderated” in recent weeks. Average delivery times for iPhone 17 smartphones are now around three days, matching levels seen during the same point in the iPhone 16 sales cycle in 2024.

In a note to clients, Chatterjee highlighted that Apple typically reaches a “parity of demand and supply towards the end of the year,” and the iPhone 17 series appears to be following that same pattern. Higher year-over-year demand had initially pushed delivery times longer during the post-launch quarter, but the gap is now starting to narrow.

All Versions of iPhone 17 See Demand Ease

JPMorgan Chase adds that even the base model iPhone 17, which is considered the key driver of this sales cycle, has seen its lead times fall to the low-single-digit range. Chatterjee notes that the decrease has been particularly pronounced for the base model, which fell by six days, while the iPhone 17 Air and Pro versions declined by one day each.

“Lead times on average decreased by 3 days (relative to Wk14),” Chatterjee wrote, contrasting with “unchanged lead times across the board for iPhone 16 in the prior year.” The analyst added that strong sell-through for the iPhone 17 series is expected to continue supporting higher unit sales and revenue through the remainder of the product cycle.

Is AAPL Stock a Buy?

The stock of Apple has a consensus Moderate Buy rating among 33 Wall Street analysts. That rating is based on 21 Buy, 10 Hold, and two Sell recommendations issued in the last three months. The average AAPL price target of $298.60 implies 9.18% upside from current levels.

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