Apple might have a lackluster 2024, as Foxconn offers conservative outlook

If 2023 wasn’t the best year Apple could have, it seems 2024 might follow this slow growth, as Foxconn, Cupertino’s most important supplier, has offered a conservative outlook for 2024. The key iPhone assembler predicts less than 5% revenue growth amid intense geopolitical uncertainty.

“If there aren’t any political or macro electronics changes, the markets will probably grow, and we will see around 5% growth,” Foxconn Chairman Young Liu said in an earnings call on Tuesday. “But such growth will easily be offset by geopolitical dynamics.”

Since the manufacturer also has Microsoft, Meta, Google, and Amazon as clients, despite being Apple’s largest supplier, the company is a good barometer of the tech industry. According to Nikkei Asia, Foxconn’s chairman believes growth momentum will come mainly from the company’s server business, especially from demand for cloud services and AI servers.

Liu also says that worldwide monetary policies and inflation could influence Foxconn’s full-year performance in 2024. Despite the uncertainty, Foxconn will continue to invest in improving its business, with the “biggest chunk of capex spending” in China, followed by the US, Vietnam, and electric vehicle parts in Mexico.

Interestingly, Apple is expected to have a packed 2024 – even though most of its business won’t have any breakthrough sales. At the beginning of the year, Cupertino is expected to unveil Apple Vision Pro (note: this device is manufactured by Luxshare and not Foxconn). Still, the company will be able to sell a few hundred thousand units in 2024.

Apple is also expected to upgrade all of its iPad lineup, with the most interesting updates being an OLED iPad Pro and a larger 12.9-inch iPad Air. We also expect the company to unveil new MacBook models, Mac mini, and Mac Studio.

Finally, by the end of the year, Apple will present the new iPhone 16 family and new Apple Watch models. At this moment, leakers say they won’t be huge updates.