The Foreign Failure
With artificial intelligence in question and its electric vehicle project dismissed, a new report suggests Apple faces more issues on the international front. Counterpoint Research, a market analysis firm, reported that tech mega-cap Apple experienced heavy sales losses in China. During the first six weeks of 2024, Apple’s iPhone revenues fell 24% when compared to the same period one year earlier. It was noted that this decline was mainly due to increased market share by Huawei, the Chinese tech giant and a major competitor to the iPhone. It was logged that other smaller Chinese smartphone makers like Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi also experienced sales declines during the period, however, not as steep as Apple. During this six-week period, Huawei saw smartphone shipments rise 64% year-over-year as the firm continued to expand its customer base and product range.
The news of Apple’s report led to a sell-off during Tuesday’s trading day, with Apple’s stock posting a daily decline of 2.84%. Although this may not seem like a lot, it is equivalent to over $30 billion lost in the tech titan’s market cap. Apple’s lackluster performance contributed to the broader tech sector’s fall during Tuesday’s trading day, with the S&P 500 remaining in the red for the day. Nevertheless, Apple’s increasingly tougher competitive environment in China is something that is being highly watched by shareholders, having a drastic impact on the firm’s top line during the years to come.
