For the past decade, investors have studied the Apple supplier list to find partners that also profit from the tech giant’s booming business.
For many Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) suppliers, the relationship means piggybacking on Cupertino, Calif.-based gadget maker’s success. Apple stock has soared nearly 1,000% just over the past decade.
The stock prices of many Apple suppliers show just how lucrative the relationship can be.
Over the past five years, STMicroelectronics NV (NYSE: STM) is up nearly 550%, Qorvo Inc. (NASDAQ: QRVO) is up nearly 250%, and Jabil Inc. (NYSE: JBL) is up more than 200%. All three get at least 20% of their revenue from selling to Apple.
Apple has an outsized impact on the stocks of its suppliers because of the huge scale of its business.
In its fiscal 2020, Apple generated $274.5 billion in revenue and $57.4 billion in net income. For some perspective, Apple’s profits exceeded the full-year 2020 sales of defense contractor Raytheon Technologies Corp. (NYSE: RTX), which came in at $56.59 billion.
The Ups and Downs of Being an Apple Supplier
One needs only to look at Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) to see how being an Apple supplier can affect a stock.
From 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 uncertainly became a powerful headwind.
The legal battle suddenly ended in April 2019, 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.
And speaking of Intel, it may become a poster child for when the opposite happens – when Apple makes a move that can shake up an industry.
At its 2020 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), Apple announced a planned transition away from using Intel-made CPUs in its Mac computers. Instead, Apple is using ARM-based CPUs of its own design – the M1 – based on the CPU designs it created for its iPhones and iPads.
For Intel, that represents a loss in annual revenue of between $1.5 billion and $3 billion. While that’s only about 2% to 3% of Intel’s sales, the Apple move could have a far more dramatic long-term impact.
When the first M1 Macs appeared in the fall of 2020, their performance stunned the tech world. The machines proved both powerful and extremely energy-efficient – a combination long thought impossible. We’re now likely to see a wave of M1-inspired ARM-based CPUs for Windows PCs. Such chips, if successful, will hit Intel hard since about a third of its revenue comes from the sale of CPUs to PC makers.
Who’s Who on the 2021 Apple Supplier List
Watching who’s new to the list – as well as who got dropped – gives us clues to how well some of these firms will fare in the months and years ahead. Some suppliers get as much as 50% or more of their revenue from Apple.
However, most Apple suppliers are foreign-based. That means U.S. investors cannot buy stock in them easily, or in many cases at all. Other companies trade on the OTC (over-the-counter) markets, but often trade at low volumes, making liquidity an issue.
Taiwan-based Foxconn is a good example. The Foxconn-Apple relationship is vital – China-based Foxconn’s vast factories build most of the iPhones Apple sells. But investors won’t find “Foxconn” listed anywhere. Foxconn is a just a trade name.
The official name is Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. (OTC: HNHPF). You can buy the stock in the United States on the OTC market, but average daily volume is less than 160,000 shares.
Until 2020, Apple faithfully updated its supplier list every year since it debuted in 2012. It’s unclear why Apple skipped a year, but the good news is that the list is back.
According to Apple, the list reflects suppliers as of its fiscal year 2020, which ended Sept. 30, 2020. So some Apple suppliers on this list may have departed since then.
The Money Morning version of the Apple supplier list 2021 adds several enhancements to make it more useful to investors:
- Any company new to the 2021 version of the list is marked with an asterisk (*).
- We’ve added ticker symbols for companies that trade on U.S. exchanges. Please note that OTC market stocks tend to be thinly traded.
- We’ve denoted companies that depend on Apple for 10% or more of their business with a dagger symbol (†) as well as the percentage (data sourced from FactSet).
- At the end we’ve included a bonus list of U.S.-based publicly traded companies that do not appear on Apple’s list, but that FactSet data shows are indeed Apple suppliers.
The Apple Supplier List 2021
0-A
3M Co. (NYSE: MMM)
AAC Acoustic Technologies Holdings Inc. (OTCMKTS ADR: AACAY)
Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc. (NYSE: ASX)
AGC Inc. (OTC: ASGLY)
*AKM Meadville Electronics (Xiamen) Co. Ltd.
*Alpha and Omega Semiconductor Ltd. (NASDAQ: AOSL)
Alps Alpine Co. Ltd. (OTCMKTS: APELY)
Amkor Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: AMKR)
†(11%) Amphenol Corp. (NYSE: APH)
ams AG (OTCMKTS: AUKUF)
Analog Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: ADI)
Asia Vital Components Co. Ltd.
AT & S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik AG
*Auras Technology Co. Ltd.
B-C
Biel Crystal Manufactory Ltd.
BOE Technology Group Co. Ltd.
Boyd Corp.
†(15%) Broadcom Ltd. (NASDAQ: AVGO)
Bumchun Precision Co. Ltd.
BYD Electronic Co. Ltd. (OTCMKTS ADR: BYDDY)
Career Technology (Mfg.) Co. Ltd.
Catcher Technology Co. Ltd.
Cheng Uei Precision Industry Co. Ltd.
Chengdu Homin Technology Co. Ltd.
China Circuit Technology Corp.
CN Innovations Holdings Ltd.
Compal Electronics Inc.
Compeq Manufacturing Co. Ltd.
*Concraft Holding Company Ltd.
*Consumer HK Holdco II Ltd.
Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW)
Cosmosupplylab Ltd.
Cowell E Holdings Inc.
CymMetrik Enterprise Co. Ltd.
D-E
Delta Electronics Inc.
Derkwoo Electronics Co. Ltd.
Dexerials Corp.
Diodes Inc. (NASDAQ: DIOD)
Dynapack International Technology Corp.
ENEOS Holdings Inc. (OTCMKTS: JXHLY)
F-G
Flex Ltd. (NASDAQ: FLEX)
Flexium Interconnect Inc.
†(15.5%) Foster Electric Co. Ltd.
*Fujian Nanping Aluminium Co. Ltd.
Fujikura Ltd.
*Future Hi Tech Co. Ltd.
*General Interface Solution Ltd.
Genius Electronic Optical Co. Ltd.
*Global Lighting Technologies
GoerTek Inc.
Golden Arrow Printing 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)
*IDEMIA Group
II-VI Inc. (NASDAQ: IIVI)
INB Electronics Ltd.
Infineon Technologies AG (OTCMKTS: IFNNY)
Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC)
Inventec Corp.
J-K-L
*J.Pond Industry Co. Ltd.
†(20%) Jabil Circuit Inc. (NYSE: JBL)
†(18.7%) Japan Aviation Electronics Industry Ltd.
†(62%) Japan Display Inc. (OTC: JPDYY)
*JCET Group Co. Ltd.
Jiangsu Gian Technology Co. Ltd.
Jinlong Machinery & Electronic Co. Ltd.
Jones Tech Plc.
*Kam Kiu Aluminium Products Group Ltd.
Kinsus Interconnect Technology Corp.
*†(23.8%) Kioxia Holdings Corp.
†(23%) Knowles Corp. (NYSE: KN)
Kunshan Kersen Science & Technology
Kyocera Group (OTCMKTS: KYOCY)
Largan Precision Co. Ltd.
*Lens Technology Co. Ltd.
LG Chem Ltd.
LG Display Co. Ltd. (NYSE ADR: LPL)
LG Innotek Co. Ltd.
*Lingyi iTech (Guangdong) Co.
Lite-On Technology Corp.
Longwell Precision Co. Ltd.
*LOTES Company Ltd.
Luen Fung Group
Lumileds Holding B.V.
Luxshare Precision Industry Co. Ltd.
M-N
Marian Inc.
Maxim Integrated Products Inc. (NASDAQ: MXIM)
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.
*Nanofilm Technologies International Private Ltd.
Nanya Technology Corp.
*Nexperia B.V.
*NGK Spark Plug Co. Ltd. (OTCMKTS: NGKSY)
Nichia Corp.
Nidec Corp. (OTC ADR: NJDCY)
†(44%) Nissha Co. Ltd.
Nitto Denko Corp. (OTCMKTS: NDEKY)
†(12.2%) NOK Corp.
NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ: NXPI)
O-P-Q-R
OFILM Group Co. Ltd.
ON Semiconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: ON)
Paishing Technology Co.
Panasonic Corp. (OTCMKTS ADR: PCRFY)
Pegatron Corp.
Phone In Mag-Electronics Co. Ltd.
Pioneer Material Precision Tech
*Plansee Group
POSCO International (NYSE ADR: PKX)
Primax Electronics Ltd.
†(30%) Qorvo Inc. (NASDAQ: QRVO)
Quadrant Solutions
†(10%) Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM)
Quanta Computer Inc.
R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co. (NASDAQ: RRD)
Radiant Opto Electronics Corp.
Renesas Electronics Corp. (OTC: RNECY)
Robert Bosch GmbH
Rohm Co. Ltd. (OTCMKTS: ROHCY)
*Royal DSM
S
SABIC Innovative Plastics
*Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co. Ltd.
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (OTCMKTS: SSNLF)
*Samsung SDI Co. Ltd.
*Selen Science & Technology Co. Ltd.
Seoul Semiconductor Co. Ltd.
*SFS Group AG
Shandong Innovation Group
*Shanghai Industrial Holdings Ltd.
†(23%) Sharp Corp. (OTCMKTS: SHCAY)
*Shenzhen Deren Electronic Co. Ltd.
Shenzhen Desay Battery Technology Co.
*Shenzhen Everwin Precision Technology Co. Ltd.
Shenzhen Fortunta Technology Co. Ltd.
Shenzhen Sunway Communication Co. Ltd.
Shenzhen YUTO Packaging Co. Ltd.
Shin Zu Shing Co. Ltd.
Simplo Technology Co. Ltd.
SK Hynix Inc.
†(56%)Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS)
Solvay SA
Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE)
†(23.9%) STMicroelectronics NV (NYSE ADR: STM)
Stora Enso (OTC: SEOAY)
Sumida Corp.
Sumitomo Chemical Co. Ltd. (OTCMKTS: SOMMY)
Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd. (OTCMKTS: SMTOY)
Sunrex Technology Corp.
Sunwoda Electronic Co. Ltd.
Suzhou Anjie Technology Co. Ltd.
Suzhou Dongshan Precision Manufacturing Co. Ltd.
*Suzhou Victory Precision Manufacture Co. Ltd.
*Suzhou Xinjieshun Hardware Machine Electricity Co. Ltd.
Suzhou Zhongjiemai Panel Industry Technology Co. Ltd
T
Taiwan Hodaka Technology Co. Ltd.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (NYSE: TSM)
Taiyo Yuden Co. Ltd. (OTCMKTS: TYOYY)
TDK Corp. (OTCMKTS: TTDKY)
*Teikoku Printing Inks Manufacturing Co. Ltd.
Texas Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: TXN)
*Tianma Micro-Electronics Ltd.
TK Group (Holdings) Ltd.
Tongda Group Holdings Ltd.
Toyo Rikagaku Kenkyusho Co. Ltd.
TPK Holding Co. Ltd.
Trinseo LLC (NYSE: TSE)
*Trio Metal Co. Ltd.
Triotek Technology Inc.
Tripod Technology Corp.
Tsujiden Co. Ltd.
*TXC Corp.
U-V-W-X-Y-Z
UACJ Corp.
Unimicron Technology Corp.
Unitech Printed Circuit Board Corp.
*United Test and Assembly Center Ltd.
*VARTA Microbattery GmbH
*Viavi Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAV)
Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ: WDC)
Wickeder Group
Winox Holdings Ltd.
Wistron Corp.
Yageo Corp.
Young Poong Corp.
Zhen Ding Technology Holding Ltd.
Zhenghe Group
Apple breaks out a separate group of suppliers that it says “do not have internal manufacturing sites related to Apple spend,” but “provide manufacturing services to our suppliers.” They are:
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD)
†(83%) Cirrus Logic Inc. (NASDAQ: CRUS)
†(64.92%) Dialog Semiconductor GmbH (OTC: DLGNF)
*GigaDevice Semiconductor Incorporated Beijing
†(26%) Lumentum Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: LITE)
Parade Technologies Ltd.
Silicon Works Co. Ltd.
Synaptics Inc. (NASDAQ: SYNA)
Your Bonus Apple Supplier List
The following companies are not on Apple’s official list, but appear as Apple suppliers in FactSet data. This list only includes U.S. stocks with the strongest relationships to Apple as estimated by FactSet.
A-C
†(15%) Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI)
Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ: AEIS)
The AES Corp. (NYSE: AES)
Akoustis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKTS)
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL)
The Chemours Co. (NYSE: CC)
Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment Inc. (NASDAQ: CSSE)
Cinedigm Corp. (NASDAQ: CIDM)
CRA International (NASDAQ: CRAI)
D-G
Digi International (NASDAQ: DGII)
Dolby Laboratories Inc. (NYSE: DLB)
Ecolab Inc. (NYSE: ECL)
Eros STX Global Corp. (NYSE: ESGC)
ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE: ESE)
Euronet Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ: EEFT)
First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR)
Genius Brands International (NASDAQ: GNUS)
Gray Television (NYSE: GTN)
I-L
IDW Media Holdings (OTCMKTS: IDW)
Immersion Corp. (NASDAQ: IMMR)
Innodata Inc. (NASDAQ: INOD)
Intellicheck, Inc. (NASDAQ: IDN)
†(31%) Interdigital (NASDAQ: IDCC)
Jamf Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: JAMF)
Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS)
Lions Gate Entertainment (NYSE: LGF.A)
Liquidmetal Technologies Inc. (OTCMKTS: LQMT)
M-N
The Macerich Co. (NYSE: MAC)
Matthews International Corp. (NASDAQ: MATW)
MDC Partners Inc. (NASDAQ: MDCA)
Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT)
Network-1 Technologies Inc. (NYSEAMERICAN: NTIP)
News Corp. (NASDAQ: NWSA)
Nielsen Holdings Plc. (NYSE: NLSN)
O-S
Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC)
OSI Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: OSIS)
Pixelworks Inc. NASDAQ: PXLW)
Qualys Inc. (NASDAQ: QLYS)
Resources Connection Inc. (NASDAQ: RGP)
†(30%) Roblox Corp. (NYSE: RBLX)
SiTime Corp. (NASDAQ: SITM)
Socket Mobile Inc. (NASDAQ: SCKT)
T-Z
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO)
TechTarget Inc. (NASDAQ: TTGT)
TTM Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: TTMI)
United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE: UPS)
The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS)
†(14%) Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ: WMG)
Zedge Inc. (NYSE: ZDGE)
†(49%) Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA)
— David Zeiler
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Source: Money Morning