Inflation has remained high, and electronics companies are beginning to expect that consumer spending is going to start showing that everyday people are feeling the heat. Best Buy (ticker: BBY) reported earnings Thursday, and told investors that it expects demand for consumer electronics to be pressured this year.
HP (HPQ), a seller of personal computers, said this week that there has been a continuing decline in demand for PCs that is hurting quarterly sales.
But Jefferies analyst Kyle McNealy wrote in a research note Thursday that his analysis of global web traffic suggests that Apple (AAPL) isn’t suffering in the same way. “Page traffic is running well ahead of consensus as suggested by the month-over-month sequential growth in January for all products except iPhone which is approximately in-line,” McNealy wrote.
“We see page traffic tracking ahead of expectations as a positive sign that Apple isn’t seeing as much macro pressure as anticipated, at least through January,” McNealy added.
He maintained his Buy rating on the stock, with a target of $195 for the price.