Hearing aid makers slip after Apple rolls out hearing aid features, analysts shrug off threat
10/09/2024 10:12
Sept 10 (Reuters) - Shares in European hearing aid
makers slipped in early trading on Tuesday after Apple AAPL.O
rolled out hearing aid features.
Apple said its AirPods Pro 2 could now be "transformed" into a
personalized hearing aid via an upcoming software update that
would boost specific sounds in real time, including parts of
speech or elements within a user's environment.
Shares in Italy's Amplifon AMPF.MI dropped as much as 7.2%
earlier in the session and were down 5.7% by 0845 GMT. Other
hearing aid makers, Sonova SOON.S , Demant DEMANT.CO and GN
Store Nord GN.CO , fell between 2% and 4%.
However, Jefferies analysts said in a note that Apple's move
was not a concern for hearing aid players as over-the-counter
(OTC) devices target a different population.
OTC hearing aids do not compete against prescription-based
devices on either technological or service levels, despite their
attractive price points, Jefferies added.
"The level of fitting does not suffice the need for those,
that have severe hearing aid problems and as such, OTC devices
are mostly used for those with mild hearing aid problems,"
analysts from Vontobel wrote in a note.
Still, analysts said the news could be a positive
development for the hearing aid industry, as it also raises
awareness of the hearing deterioration problems.
(Reporting by Anastasiia Kozlova and Alessandro Parodi in
Gdansk, additional reporting by Agnieszka Olenska and Amir
Orusov; editing by Milla Nissi)
((mailto:Anastasiia.Kozlova@thomsonreuters.com;
Alessandro.Parodi@thomsonreuters.com))