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Apple's Late iPhone Launch Wiped $100 Billion Off Its Stock Value

Apple's Late iPhone Launch Wiped $100 Billion Off Its Stock Value
Apple's Late iPhone Launch Wiped $100 Billion Off Its Stock Value

The late launch of new 5G phones caused Apple Inc's customers to put off buying new devices, leading the company on Thursday to report the steepest quarterly drop in iPhone sales in two years.
Apple fell over 5% at one point in after-hours trade, wiping $100 billion from its stock market value. Since 2013, Apple has delivered new iPhones each September like clockwork. But pandemic-induced delays pushed the announcement back a month, with some devices still yet to ship, Business Insider reported.
Even as booming sales of Macs and AirPods boosted overall revenue and profit above what analysts had expected, iPhone sales dropped 20.7% to $26.4 billion. 
Investors anticipated lower sales from the Cupertino, California company’s bestselling product, but the hold-back was worse than expected, especially in China, where more consumers have access to 5G than in the United States or Europe.
Apple has mostly beaten sales expectations this year and released a slew of new products and services that its customers have embraced while largely homebound during the pandemic.
The company said revenue and profits for the fiscal fourth quarter ended on Sept. 26 was $64.7 billion and 73 cents per share, compared with analyst estimates of $63.7 billion and 70 cents per share, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
But the flagship iPhone 12’s announcement was delayed until Oct. 13, several weeks later than usual, meaning no opening-weekend iPhone sales are included in the fourth-quarter results.
In an interview, Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said that he was “optimistic” about the iPhone 12 cycle based on the first five days of shipping data.
“5G is a once-in-a-decade kind of opportunity. And we could not be more excited to hit the market exactly when we did. At least in the US, the carriers are being very aggressive,” Cook said. 
The iPhone 12 release timing drove down sales in Greater China by 28.5% to $7.95 billion. 
Cook said he expects the new 5G devices to help iPhone sales recover in China.
“What we’re seeing in the early going in the first five days gives us a lot of confidence that China will return to growth in our fiscal Q1,” Cook said.

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