Amid concerns about a slowdown in iPhone sales and China s economy, Apple shares are down more than 3 percent a day ahead of the company s earnings release Tuesday.
Some analysts expect quarterly iPhone sales — which make up the bulk of the Cupertino company s revenue — to have slowed compared with the year-ago period. The company started selling its iPhone 6s and 6s Plus only days before the fourth quarter ended Sept. 30, so most of the sales included in the results are of the older model. But the company did report record sales of 13 million units during the new models opening weekend, although the numbers included sales in China.
Speaking of China, it s so important to Apple s success that CEO Tim Cook recently took the unusual step of trying to reassure investors that the company s doing just fine there, thank you very much. As China faces economic challenges, there s concern that Apple s (impressive) growth there will slow. In response, Cook wrote in an email to CNBC s Jim Cramer in August that he still saw unprecedented opportunity in that nation despite some indications that the smartphone market there may have reached saturation. And Apple reportedly has lost smartphone market share there.
Looking ahead, tis the season to be watching for Apple s outlook for the holidays. The company usually turns in its best performance during the last three months of the calendar year. But there s some pessimism surrounding iPhone numbers because some see the newest models updates as incremental. Still, Apple did come out with a potentially big new initiative: its iPhone upgrade program.
Analysts on average expect Apple to report profit of $10.8 billion, or $1.88 per share, on sales of $51 billion, according to Bloomberg News.
Apple shares have declined almost 13 percent since it last reported earnings. They re down nearly $4 to about $115.
Photo from Associated Press
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