Device Boom: Suppliers Stand to Gain as Tech Giants Unveil New Products
Several major tech companies are driving a surge in device sales, but investors should look beyond the manufacturers themselves to benefit from this trend.
The past three weeks have seen Apple unveil its foldable iPhone Duo and AI glasses, while Meta Platforms rolled out an entire lineup of AI glasses and a pocket device built around its Muse agent. SpaceX also launched its first batch of next-generation Starlink satellites into orbit.
Josh Baylin, editor of the True Innovations Report at Stansberry Research, notes that consumer hardware cycles often favor suppliers and patent holders over the companies whose logos appear on devices.
Qualcomm is one such supplier, with a royalty stream that outlasts any single design win. The company's share of Apple's latest iPhone launch is expected to be lower than previously estimated, but Baylin argues that Qualcomm's domestic semiconductor exposure and auto, internet-of-things, and early data center exposure will re-rate if personal device counts multiply.
STMicroelectronics, another supplier, co-designs the radio-frequency front-end modules for Starlink's phased-array antennas. The company has shipped hundreds of millions of these chips to SpaceX over the past decade, with volumes expected to double in the next two years.