APPLE SALES DECLINE FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2001
Apple
just posted its first annual sales decline since 2001, the year it
launched the iPod and kicked off a tremendous run of groundbreaking
products.
The tech company
revealed Tuesday that annual sales fell to $216 billion in the 2016
fiscal year ending September 30, from a record $234 billion in 2015.
The sales decline is closely connected to the falling sales for the iPhone, which remains Apple's largest source of revenue.
Apple sold 45.5 million iPhones in the September quarter, down from 48 million iPhones in the same quarter a year earlier. That marks the third consecutive quarter when iPhone sales and overall revenue have declined from a year prior.
Many analysts have raised concerns that the global smartphone market is saturated. Customers are taking longer to replace their phones. And Apple's latest iPhone is a dead ringer for the previous two models, eliminating some of the desire to upgrade.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said on a conference call with analysts that demand for the new iPhones is "outstripping supply in the vast majority of places, particularly on the iPhone 7 Plus."
Apple's sales in China, once a promising area of growth, fell 30% year-over-over year as the company faces competition from local smartphone makers like Xiaomi and Huawei. However, the company expects that to improve next quarter.
"We are very bullish on China," Cook said on the call, noting the vast number of "people growing into the middle class."
The sales decline is closely connected to the falling sales for the iPhone, which remains Apple's largest source of revenue.
Apple sold 45.5 million iPhones in the September quarter, down from 48 million iPhones in the same quarter a year earlier. That marks the third consecutive quarter when iPhone sales and overall revenue have declined from a year prior.
Many analysts have raised concerns that the global smartphone market is saturated. Customers are taking longer to replace their phones. And Apple's latest iPhone is a dead ringer for the previous two models, eliminating some of the desire to upgrade.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said on a conference call with analysts that demand for the new iPhones is "outstripping supply in the vast majority of places, particularly on the iPhone 7 Plus."
Apple's sales in China, once a promising area of growth, fell 30% year-over-over year as the company faces competition from local smartphone makers like Xiaomi and Huawei. However, the company expects that to improve next quarter.
"We are very bullish on China," Cook said on the call, noting the vast number of "people growing into the middle class."
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