According to the Wall Street Journal in Asia, Jobs' Mob is referred to as "the fruit company" or sometimes "Fuji," referring to the variety of the specific fruit in question that's cultivated in Japan.
Other descriptors include "the three-trillion-dollar company" -- which slightly overstates its market value -- "the honoured North American customer" and simply "the big A."
In a January securities filing, O-Film Group, a Chinese maker of smartphone camera modules said it estimated a loss of up to $426 million in 2021. One reason was lost business with "a certain customer beyond these borders." Which customer? An O-Film spokesperson didn't dare respond to the question.
The reason for the stupid amount of secrecy among the Asian death eaters is that Apple has the power to award -- or take away -- contracts for electronic parts and services worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Suppliers' public presentations and even private conversations hardly ever include the name of the company they're discussing, for fear of offending someone or accidentally revealing competitive information.
The reluctance to spell out the remaining four letters beyond "A" is more than just custom. A 2014 court filing related to a former supplier's bankruptcy gave details about its confidentiality agreement with the customer.
The supplier, GT Advanced Technologies, promised to pay $50 million for each breach of secrecy, according to the filing. The agreement defined breaches to include not just the usual trade secrets but also the existence of the relationship.
Even Broadcom, which is pretty big and powerful in its own right quakes in terror at mentioning Apple’s name.
An analyst mentioned, without naming names, that "growth in Q3 from a seasonal perspective" might be lacking. He asked for "some more colour around how we should think about the wireless expected recovery into Q4."
Broadcom Chief Executive Hock Tan understood what the analyst was implying: Broadcom was indeed designing chips for "those big flagship phones" made by "our large North American OEM phone maker." He confirmed the delay in the OEM's products.
