Apple struggles in China; price falls by 7.5% in a day
January 3 , 2019 | Investopaper
Apple CEO Tim Cook blamed weak Apple iPhone sales in China for its fall in quarterly revenue forecast for the first time in 15 years. The forecast declined to $84 billion and Apple loses 7.5% in share price in after-hours trading this Wednesday. This also highlights how closely the US and Chinese economies are interlinked with each other. The Chinese market is the world’s largest smartphone market and represents almost 20% of Apple’s sales.
Tim Cook further elaborated that the economic slowdown in the second half of 2018 in China led to a major decline in its revenue. Sales of iPhone, Mac, and iPad all declined in China causing the revenue forecast to fall short of its goals.
This further highlights the impact of trade-war because American companies doing business in Asia’s largest economy could take a hit from the tussle between two economic giants and economic slowdown in China.
Addressing the issue, he further stated that Apple products will bounce back in China. He applauded Chinese iOS developer for being a most innovative and creative team in the world.
He also mentioned that other factors like consumers adapting to a world with fewer carrier subsidies, US dollar strength-related price increases, and some customers taking advantage of significantly reduced pricing for iPhone battery replacements have an impact on iPhone performance.
