By Sam Boughedda
Lumentum Holdings (NASDAQ:LITE) shares dropped Friday after TF International Securities analysts tweeted that Sony (NYSE:SONY) will replace Lumentum and WIN Semiconductors (TWO:3105) as the exclusive time-of-flight VCSEL supplier for Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max.
"Lumentum/Win Semi's iPhone Face ID VCSEL market share will decrease from 50% in the iPhone 14 series to 30-40% in the iPhone 15 series due to Sony and II-VI's increased supply ratio," wrote the analysts.
The analysts added that as a result of the companies losing significant iPhone VCSEL orders, they will face structural risks due to Sony's technological advantages, as "Sony will likely continue taking Lumentum/Win Semi's orders from other brand customers."
They explained: "The critical design of Sony's ToF VCSEL solution is integrating VCSEL & driver IC, which can reduce power consumption (beneficial for battery life) or provide better ToF performance under same power consumption (beneficial for camera & potential AR applications)."
Lumentum shares are down more than 5% on the news, currently trading around the $54.68 mark. The company's share price fell below the $54 level earlier in the session.