Apple's supply problems are getting better, Wall Street thinks
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Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) reported fiscal first-quarter results that handily surpassed Wall Street estimates and said it would have "solid year-over-year revenue growth" for the next quarter, suggesting that the supply constraints that the company has dealt with are easing.
In a note to investors, J.P. Morgan analyst Samik Chatterjee noted that the guidance, while "solid," notes that the company still has some supply constraints, particularly around the iPad, but it's getting better.
"Apple expects headwinds to moderate going forward," Chatterjee wrote, while noting that the iPad is an outlier, given the supply headwinds it is facing. "[H]owever, Apple noted customer demand remained very robust across all iPad models. Apple noted supply headwinds in F1Q were in line with expectations to be greater than $6 bn, but looking forward, Apple expects supply headwinds to moderate on a sequential basis."
Chatterjee reiterated his overweight rating and $210 price target on Apple following the results.
On the company's earnings call, Chief Executive Tim Cook highlighted that the supply constraints had negatively impacted Apple's revenues by $6 billion in the September quarter, but added that the company "will do better or have less constraints than we had in the December quarter."
"If you look at the commonality between different products, there is some," Cook added. "But generally, the challenge is on legacy nodes. And these legacy nodes are by supplier. And so it's much more focused on the supplier than anything else and versus us behind the curtain finding a place to take it."
Bank of America analyst Wamsi Mohan noted that he does not expect supply and demand to come into balance once the next quarter ends, but component shortages are mitigating somewhat, and with demand not being hampered, Apple is in a good spot.
"Apple is benefiting from better mix as 1. customers buying higher-end products helped by financing/trade-in programs, and 2. supply constraints having a higher impact on older (lower priced) models.," Mohan wrote in a note to clients.
The analyst also noted that Apple's predictability to generate strong cash flows "make its investment appeal even higher in a macro environment where predictability of cash flows is becoming increasingly scarce."
Mohan reiterated his buy rating and raised his price target to $215, up from $210, following the results. 
UBS analyst David Vogt raised his price target to $185, up from $175, noting that the company's supply chain is executing better than its peers, which helped drive "share gains in key markets like the US and China."
"While results did reflect iPhone units pushed from [September] into [December], we believe the same pattern to a lesser degree happened again this qtr shaving 100-200 bps off iPhone year-over-year growth of 9% as several million units shifted into 2Q:22. Accordingly, we raise 2Q:22 units ~2% to 55M while raising FY22 by 5M to 235M."
Earlier this month, Apple's (AAPL) Cook spoke to Texas Senator Ted Cruz over some antitrust bills that are being debated in the Senate, including one that would prohibit platforms from favoring their own products over others.