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What's going on?
When Apple talks, the world listens its product launch late on Tuesday impacted stock prices around the world on Wednesday (tweet this)
What does this mean?
The later-than-expected shipping date of the new iPhone X put pressure on the stock prices of Apples suppliers (e.g. chipmakers) on Wednesday presumably as investors digested the news that their revenues (from selling parts to Apple) could be delayed as well.
In another twist, shares of Swiss watchmaker Swatch fell almost 4% following the news that the new Apple Watch will not need to be linked to an iPhone (as has been the case previously), a potential game changer for Apple Watch sales and possibly bad news for purveyors of old-fashioned timepieces!
Why should I care?
For markets: Apples impact reaches far and wide.
Naturally, there is a lot of focus on Apple itself whenever it releases news, but investors around the world are often just as focused on the impact of the news on other companies. Investors scour the details to determine the implications for other publicly traded companies, such as Foxconn in Asia or the European chip designer Dialog.
The bigger picture: Its not yet clear how threatened traditional watchmakers are by smart watches.
One argument is that the Apple Watch wont really harm luxury watchmakers perhaps people will always like wearing a Rolex just because its a Rolex (P.S. you can win one here). This may be why Swatch, which relies to a greater extent on mid-market watches than its more luxury-focused competitors, was a particularly poor performer on Wednesday. However, it may be only a matter of time before even the highest-end watches must have smart components to be commercial.
Originally posted as part of the Finimize daily email.
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