Volatility in Apple supplier stocks is soaring. First it was Taiwanese iPhone maker Foxconn. Now it is Chinese AirPods maker Goertek. Shares in the Chinese component maker fell by their daily limit of 10 per cent after the company said it had suspended production of an audio product from a “major overseas” client.
The hit to sales would be less than a tenth of last year’s total. The severe market reaction highlights the fragility of a business model heavily dependent on a handful of large customers. Geopolitics and China’s zero-Covid policy are adding to that risk.
Goertek, which is one of the largest acoustic components companies in China, did not name the client or the product involved. It warned that the suspension could cost as much as Rmb3.3bn ($456mn) of revenue this year.