Apple’s stock closed down 4% on Thursday, making it the worst performance since August 5, 2024. Apple’s iPhone sales in China are declining. The company is losing market share to local competitors, where they are opening a new store.
According to a report from Canalys, Apple has fallen to third place in smartphone sales in China for 2024, trailing behind homegrown manufacturers Vivo and Huawei. The report shows that Apple had 15% of the 284 million smartphones sold in China last year, a 17% decrease compared to the previous year.
Adding to it, TSMC reported a forecast showing a nearly 6% sequential drop in smartphone sales for the first quarter of 2025. TSMC said it had a decline in revenue due to seasonal factors. They said that AI chips now make up more than half of their revenue.
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicts that iPhone sales will drop by 6% compared to last year in the first half of 2025, with most of the decline happening in the second quarter. Kuo also noted that there is no evidence that Apple’s artificial intelligence system is helping to increase hardware upgrades or service demand.
Apple is set to release its December quarter results on January 30, 2025.
More here.