Ming-Chi Kuo of TF International Securities, the most widely followed Apple analyst on Wall Street whose calls typically move the stock, says demand for iPhones is falling way short. Here are his new forecasts in a new note Friday: Kuo's note is titled, "2019 iPhone shipments likely to be under 190 million units." That would fall well short of FactSet's consensus analyst estimate of 212 million iPhone units shipped for the calendar year 2019. Apple shares dropped 3.2 percent on Friday, bringing their decline for the quarter to more than 26 percent. The analyst, known for having close ties to Apple suppliers, cites lower demand for the new iPhone XR, the more affordable iPhone. "The increase in orders of legacy iPhone models cannot offset the decline of XR and XS series shipments because of the low season impact," he said. Apple's iPhone shipments missed Wall Street estimates last quarter. It also said in November it will stop reporting individual sales numbers for the iPhone. Kuo said in his note the suppliers are likely to "face growth challenges" because of the decline in iPhone shipments. WATCH: Apple's stock is plunging — Here's what six experts say investors should know
TF International Securities ' Ming - Chi Kuo , silicon Street 's most widely - followed financial analyst , has cut the tech firm 's Q1 2019 shipping estimates by one - fifth , from the forecast range of 47 million to 52 million , to between 38 million and 42 million . In a note , Kuo said apple 's projected total shipments will slip by between 5 % and 10 % , and are likely be fewer than 190 million units . The note cites low prices for its latest model , the iPhone XR . Apple sales have fallen by more than 26 % during Q4 2018 .