Apple's manufacturing commitment was $55.1 billion, up 16% from a year earlier, indicating that Apple is confident about future hardware sales

CTOnews.com February 9 news, Apple recently submitted to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission 10-Q documents show that as of December 31, manufacturing purchase commitments (Purchase Commitments) for $55.1 billion (currently about 374.129 billion yuan), of which $54.8 billion (currently about 372.092 billion yuan) will be paid in the next 12 months, an increase of 16% year-on-year.

Angela Palumbo of Barron's said manufacturing commitments are a proxy for hardware sales expectations, with Apple promising to buy a certain number of items from suppliers.

Daryanani wrote,"This increase indicates that Apple has strong expectations for growth in hardware sales over the next 12 months." CTOnews.com also found from the report encouraging growth in purchase commitments at a time when investors are worried about the outlook for iPhone demand.

CEO Tim Cook said on a recent earnings call that he believes iPhone sales would grow "if it weren't for the shortage."

Daryanani currently rates Apple as "Outperform" and has a price target of $190 per share.