There were signs of weakening in the critical Chinese market which suggests that the technology company’s period of exponential growth might be nearing the end. As a result, Apple Inc forecasts its first revenue drop in 13 years and also slowest-ever growth in iPhone shipments. The company’s share fell down by 0.7 percent as a call with analysts was underway. J.J. Kinahan, the chief strategist at TD Ameritrade finds it disappointing to see Apple miss on their already downward adjusted sales number. He also said that with the iPhone growth slowing, there is a need of a product to be excited about.
One of the most valuable publicly traded U.S. tech company claimed to have sold 74.8 million iPhones in its fiscal first quarter, ended Dec. 26. Since the phones iPhone 6S and 6S Plus were launched, 0.4% growth in shipments was the lowest.Tim Cook, Chief Executive says the fall for the current quarter was expected from a year ago. There was a rise in revenues by 14% in Greater China in the last quarter. Luca Maestri, Apple Chief Financial Officer told Apple has started to see a shift in the economy, particularly in Hong Kong. The 2nd quarter revenue is expected to be between $50 billion to $53 billion which is below analysts’ average forecast of $55.5 billion. Last year Apple had recorded revenue of $58 billion in the same quarter.
March quarter suggests iPhone sales of 45 to 50 million units while it was 61.2 million iPhones in the same quarter last year. In Greater China the revenue reported was $18.37 billion which is 24.2% of total revenue. Fact Set Street Account, a research firm says Apple’s iPhone shipments fell short of analyst expectations for 75.5 million. Earnings of $3.28 per share in comparison to $3.23 per share were estimated. As per analysts it should have been$76.54 billion.
