(Good) analysts start with numbers, then draw conclusions based on those numbers.
Numbers in this case would be reduced orders at Apple suppliers, reduced demand for labor at an iPhone assembly factory, and reduced iPhone Q1 unit forecasts from Apple itself. I'm assuming they also collect their own numbers by surveying end users and consumers to round out both the supply and demand side picture. Then they draw the conclusions in the article.
Now these could be bad analysts, in which case they would start with some presupposed beliefs, then mold the numbers/forecasts to fit their story...
Numbers in this case would be reduced orders at Apple suppliers, reduced demand for labor at an iPhone assembly factory, and reduced iPhone Q1 unit forecasts from Apple itself. I'm assuming they also collect their own numbers by surveying end users and consumers to round out both the supply and demand side picture. Then they draw the conclusions in the article.
Now these could be bad analysts, in which case they would start with some presupposed beliefs, then mold the numbers/forecasts to fit their story...