For years, investors have scoured the Apple suppliers list for backdoor plays on the Cupertino, Calif.–based tech giant.
And some of these Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) suppliers have indeed done very well.
Over the past five years, Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS) is up 115%, Maxim Integrated Products Inc. (NASDAQ: MXIM) is up 154%, and Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ: AVGO) is up 390%.
In its fiscal 2018, Apple generated $265.6 billion in revenue and $59.5 billion in net income.
For some perspective, Apple’s profits last year exceeded the revenue of entertainment giant Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS), which came in at $59.4 billion – a record high for the House of Mouse.
A prime example of what being one of Apple suppliers can do to your stock is the Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) drama.
Since early 2017, the two companies had fought over the royalties Qualcomm had traditionally charged. Apple claimed the terms were unfair. It filed a lawsuit and began ordering more chips from rival Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC). For QCOM stock, the uncertainty became a powerful headwind.
The legal battle suddenly ended April 1, when the two companies reached a settlement very favorable to Qualcomm. Apple agreed to buy chips from Qualcomm for six years – locking in that business for QCOM – and pay an undisclosed one-time fee.
The news drove QCOM stock up 20% the day the news broke. Just a little over three weeks later, Qualcomm stock was up more than 50% from where it was before the settlement was announced.
The first Apple suppliers list was published in 2012. The company has updated it every year since.
Watching who’s new to the list – as well as who got dropped – tells us much about the prospects for many of these suppliers.
While falling off the list doesn’t necessarily mean the company is no longer a supplier, it does suggest Apple is buying less from that company. And the negative impact grows with a firm’s dependency on Apple. Some companies get more than half of their business from Apple.
At the same time, a fresh deal with Apple can send a company’s stock soaring, as we saw with Qualcomm.
The first AAPL suppliers list consisted of 150 companies. Over the past few years, Apple has limited the list to its top 200 suppliers.
Below, we’ve duplicated the 2019 Apple suppliers list, but with several enhancements to make it more useful to investors. For one thing, we’ve eliminated multiple listings. (Many companies have more than one physical location that supplies Apple.)
We’ve also added ticker symbols for companies that trade on U.S. exchanges. Please remember that OTC market stocks are typically thinly traded.
Any company new to the list (that wasn’t on the 2018 list) is marked with an asterisk (*).
Publicly traded companies dropped from 2018 appear in a separate group at the bottom of the list.
Finally, we’ve denoted companies that depend on Apple for 10% or more of their business with a dagger symbol (†) if that data is available.
The Apple Suppliers List for 2019
0-A
3M Co. (NYSE: MMM)
AAC Technologies Holdings Inc. (OTCMKTS ADR: AACAY)
Advanced International Multitech Co. Ltd.
Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc. (NYSE: ASX)
Alps Electric Co. Ltd. (OTCMKTS: APELY)
Amkor Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: AMKR)
†Amphenol Corp. (NYSE: APH)
ams AG (OTCMKTS: AUKUF)
Analog Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: ADI)
Artesyn Embedded Technologies
Asahi Glass Co Ltd. (OTCMKTS: ASGLY)
Asia Vital Components Ltd.
AT & S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik AG
B-C
Biel Crystal Manufactory Ltd.
BOE Technology Group Co. Ltd.
*Boyd Corp.
†Broadcom Ltd. (NASDAQ: AVGO)
*Bumchun Precision Co. Ltd.
BYD Electronic Co. Ltd. (OTCMKTS ADR: BYDDY)
Career Technology (Mfg.) Co. Ltd.
Catcher Technology Co. Ltd.
Cathay Tat Ming Precision Metal Products Co. Ltd.
*CCL Design (Suzhou) Co. Ltd.
Cheng Loong Corp.
Cheng Uei Precision Industry Co. Ltd.
Chengdu Homin Technology Co. Ltd.
China Circuit Technology Corp.
*CN Innovations Holdings Ltd.
Coilcraft Inc.
Compal Electronics Inc.
Compeq Manufacturing Co. Ltd.
Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW)
Cosmosupplylab Ltd.
Cowell E Holdings Inc.
*Crealand Technology Ltd.
CymMetrik Enterprise Co. Ltd.
*Cypress Semiconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: CY)
D-E
Darfon Electronics Corp.
*Delta Electronics Inc.
*Derkwoo Electronics Co. Ltd.
Dexerials Corp.
Diodes Inc. (NASDAQ: DIOD)
DSM Engineering Plastics Co. Ltd.
Dynapack International Technology Corp.
*ECCO Leather B.V.
F-G
*Flex Ltd. (NASDAQ: FLEX)
Flexium Interconnect Inc.
†Foster Electric Co. Ltd.
Fujikura Ltd.
*Fuyang Technology Corp.
Genius Electronic Optical Co. Ltd.
GoerTek Inc.
*Golden Arrow Printing Co. Ltd.
*Guangdong Ellington Electronics Technology Co. Ltd.
H-I
Hama Naka Shoukin Industry Co. Ltd.
Henkel AG & Co. (OTCMKTS: HENOY)
HI-P International Ltd.
Hirose Electric Co. Ltd
*Hitachi Ltd. (OTCMKTS: HTHIY)
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Ltd. (Foxconn) (OTCMKTS ADR: HNHPF)
*Ibiden Company Ltd. (OTCMKTS: IBIDF)
*II-VI Inc. (NASDAQ: IIVI)
INB Electronics Ltd.
Infineon Technologies AG (OTCMKTS: IFNNY)
Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC)
Interflex Co. Ltd.
Intramedia Inc.
Inventec Corp.
J-K-L
*J.Pond Industry Co. Ltd.
†Jabil Circuit Inc. (NYSE: JBL)
†Japan Aviation Electronics Industry Ltd.
†Japan Display Inc.
Jiangsu Changjiang Electronics Technology Co. Ltd.
*Jilin Liyuan Precision Manufacturing Co. Ltd.
Jinlong Machinery & Electronic Co. Ltd.
*Jones Tech Plc.
*JXTG Holdings Inc. (OTCMKTS: JXHLY)
Kantatsu Co. Ltd.
Kemet Corp. (NYSE: KEM)
Kinsus Interconnect Technology Corp.
†Knowles Corp. (NYSE: KN)
Kunshan Kersen Science & Technology
Kyocera Group (NYSE ADR: KYO)
Laird Technologies (OTCMKTS: LARRF)
Largan Precision Co. Ltd.
Lens One Technology
LG Chem Ltd.
LG Display Co. Ltd. (NYSE ADR: LPL)
LG Innotek Co. Ltd.
Lite-On Technology Corp.
Longwell Precision Co. Ltd.
Luen Fung Group
*Lumileds Holding B.V.
*Luxshare Precision Industry Co. Ltd.
*LY Investment (HK) Ltd.
M-N
Marian Inc.
Maxim Integrated Products Inc. (NASDAQ: MXIM)
Merry Electronics Co. Ltd.
Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MCHP)
Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU)
†Minebea Mitsumi Inc. (OTCMKTS: MNBEF)
*Molex Inc.
Murata Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (OTCMKTS: MRAAY)
MYS Group Co. Ltd.
Nanya Technology Corp.
Nichia Corp.
Nidec Corp. (OTC ADR: NJDCY)
†Nissha Co. Ltd.
Nitto Denko Corp. (OTCMKTS: NDEKY)
†NOK Corp.
NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ: NXPI)
O-P-Q-R
O-film Tech
ON Semiconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: ON)
Pai Shing International Ltd.
Panasonic Corp. (OTCMKTS ADR: PCRFY)
Pegatron Corp.
Phone In Mag-Electronics Co. Ltd.
Pioneer Material Precision Tech
POSCO (NYSE ADR: PKX)
Primax Electronics Ltd.
†Qorvo Inc. (NASDAQ: QRVO)
Quadrant Solutions
†Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM)
Quanta Computer Inc.
Radiant Opto Electronics Corp.
Renesas Electronics Corp. (OTC: RNECY)
*Risuntek Inc.
Robert Bosch GmbH
Rohm Co. Ltd. (OTCMKTS: ROHCY)
RR Donnelley & Sons Co. (NASDAQ: RRD)
S
SABIC Innovative Plastics
Salcomp Co. Ltd.
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (OTCMKTS: SSNLF)
Seiko Advance Ltd.
Sekisui Chemical Co. Ltd.
Seoul Semiconductor Co. Ltd.
Shandong Innovation Group
†Sharp Corp. (OTCMKTS: SHCAY)
Shenzhen Desay Battery Technology Co.
Shenzhen Fortunta Technology Co. Ltd.
Shenzhen Sunway Communication Co. Ltd.
Shenzhen YUTO Packaging
Shin Zu Shing Co. Ltd.
Simplo Technology Co. Ltd.
SK Hynix Inc.
†Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS)
SMK Corp.
Solvay SA
Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE)
†STMicroelectronics NV (NYSE ADR: STM)
Stora Enso (OTC: SEOAY)
Sumida Corp.
Sumitomo Chemical Co. Ltd.
Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd.
Sunrex Technology Corp.
Sunwoda Electronic Co. Ltd.
Suzhou Anjie Technology Co. Ltd.
Suzhou Dongshan Precision Manufacturing Co. Ltd.
Suzhou Zhongjiemai Panel Industry Technology Co. Ltd
Swiftronic Pte. Ltd.
T
Taishan City Kam Kiu Aluminium Extrusion Co. Ltd.
Taiwan Hodaka Technology Co. Ltd.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (NYSE: TSM)
Taiyo Yuden Co. Ltd. (OTCMKTS: TYOYY)
TDK Corp. (OTCMKTS: TTDKY)
Texas Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: TXN)
The Chemours Company FC, LLC (NYSE: CC)
TK Group (Holdings) Ltd.
Tongda Group Holdings Ltd.
Toshiba Corp. (OTCMKTS: TOSYY)
Toyo Rikagaku Kenkyusho Co. Ltd.
TPK Holding Co. Ltd.
Trinseo LLC (NYSE: TSE)
Triotek Technology Inc.
Tripod Technology Corp.
Tsujiden Co. Ltd.
†TTM Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: TTMI)
U-V-W-X-Y-Z
UACJ Corp.
Unimicron Technology Corp.
Unisteel Technology Ltd.
Unitech Printed Circuit Board Corp.
Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ: WDC)
Wickeder Group
*Winox Enterprise Co. Ltd.
Wistron Corp.
Xiamen Jan Jia Optoelectronics Co. Ltd.
Yageo Corp.
*Young Poong Corp.
Zeniya Aluminum Engineering Ltd.
*Zhen Ding Technology Holding Ltd.
*Zhenghe Group
Apple breaks out a separate group of suppliers which it says “do not have internal manufacturing sites related to Apple spend,” but “provide manufacturing services to [its] suppliers.” They are:
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD)
†Cirrus Logic Inc. (NASDAQ: CRUS)
†Dialog Semiconductor GmbH (OTC: DLGNF)
*Lumentum Holdings Inc.
OmniVision Technologies Inc.
Parade Technologies Ltd.
Silicon Works Co. Ltd.
SiTime Corp.
Synaptics Inc. (NASDAQ: SYNA)
And finally, these publicly traded companies were on the Apple Supplier List last year but didn’t make the top 200 this year:
Apollo Global Management LLC (NYSE: APO)
Daikin Industries Ltd. (OTCMKTS: DKILY)
Seagate Technology LLC (NASDAQ: STX)
Vishay Intertechnology Inc. (NYSE: VSH)
— David Zeiler
Source: Money Morning