Apple Eyes 30% Increase In iPhone Shipments In First Quarter 2022 With Full-Year Goal Of 300M Unit Sales: Report

Apple, Inc. AAPL is being stymied by supply chain issues in the December quarter, and it appears that things could take a turn for the better as early as the first-half of 2022.

What Happened: Apple is planning to increase iPhone shipments for the first-half of 2022 by 30%, according to a new report from Digitimes, citing a person connected to the South Korean component industry. The tech giant is reportedly targeting sales of 170 million units of iPhones in the first-half of next year, compared to the 130 million units sold in its fiscal-year 2021.

The company has directed its major component manufacturers to increase production accordingly.

With the strong start to the year, Apple hopes to exceed its full-year iPhone shipment target of 300 million units, the report said.

The ambitious target the company has set for the year could be supported by Apple's plan to launch two iPhone models in 2022. Apart from the iPhone 14, the company is also expected to launch the next-gen iPhone SE.

Related Link: Apple Analyst: Cupertino's Stock Is Attractive Versus Other Mega Caps Despite Valuation

Why It's Important: Apple has indicated that about $6 billion sales were lost in the September quarter due to supply chain issues. CEO Tim Cook said the December quarter will be impacted by the multi-billion dollar sales shortfall seen in the September quarter.

Given that supply chain issues have constrained production, strong customer demand is expected to fuel sales growth for Apple products into the March quarter.

"The pent-up demand story for Cupertino is still being underestimated by investors, with chip issues a transitory issue," Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives said in a recent note.

In premarket trading Tuesday, Apple shares were adding 2.21% to $168.98.

Related Link: Apple Product Supply Issues Come To Light During Cyber Monday: What's Next?