Universal Display stock sinks after WSJ reports Apple will 'stick with cheaper screens'

Shares of Universal Display Corp. are down 3.5% in premarket trading after a Wall Street Journal report said that Apple Inc. plans to "stick with cheaper screens" with its upcoming iPhone line due to the price sensitivity of its customers. The story said that Apple expects the majority of its iPhone sales to come from devices with liquid-crystal-display (LCD) screens this fall and plans to use LCD screens next year as well. The Wall Street Journal cited unnamed sources "involved in the Apple supply chain." The iPhone X was the first Apple phone to feature an organic-light-emitting-diode (OLED) screen, and these screens tend to be more expensive than LCD ones. Samsung Display Co. is Apple's main OLED supplier, but shares of Universal Display often move on rumors about Apple's display plans. The stock soared late last month after a report indicated that Apple intended to used OLED screens on all three of its 2019 iPhone models, plans that the WSJ story disputed. Universal Display shares are down 15% over the past 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 14%.