[dangus]

Then again, all those people who can’t buy these products now due to temporary shortage aren’t going to just forget that they wanted to buy a new iPhone.

I believe there was a similar reason for the auto industry to come back so strongly after the 2008 financial crisis. All those people who held off on car purchases in hard times exited the crisis with aging vehicles that needed to be replaced.

I would think that this sort of shortage would harm a consumables company like Coca-Cola a lot more than an “appliance” company like Apple, Toyota, or Whirlpool.

[totalZero]

Sure they will.

Consumers in China who wanted a new iPhone would probably rather stay at home than go out to buy a discretionary consumer device like an iPhone. Many will have less income with which to get by, meaning they wouldn't be able to afford an iPhone even if they were willing to go buy one. And with Apple stores closed in China, it's kind of tough to buy an iPhone there.

Meanwhile, people who really need a smartphone elsewhere will take this opportunity to buy a different phone.

Economic shocks have long-lasting aftereffects. Don't assume that the result of this hit to iPhone production is simply a phase shift of Apple's product cycle and consumer demand. For example, Apple will probably take cash away from its next stock buyback in order to cover the upfront costs of this hit to its revenue. And they may not be able to provide the kind of pricing and incentives that they were planning to provide before the virus hit.

[beachwood23]

I'm not so sure. So much consumption these days seems to be discretionary.

For your example in the auto industry, one large reason the industry bounced back was because of the Cash for Clunkers program. The US government spent $3 billion to make sure the auto industry would "come back strongly."

Without similar stimulus here, I don't see how the bottom line of Apple and other companies will escape being affected.