Apple Inc on Tuesday posted its first-ever decline in iPhone sales and its first revenue drop in 13 years as the company credited with inventing the smartphone struggles with an increasingly saturated market.
The company’s sales dropped by more than a quarter in China, its most important market after the United States, and it also forecast another disappointing quarter for global revenues.
Its shares fell about 8 percent, dropping below $100 for the first time since February. A hike in Apple’s share buyback and dividend as well as bumper revenue from services failed to mollify investors.
Apple said it sold 51.2 million iPhones in its second fiscal quarter, down from 61.2 million in the same quarter a year ago but above analysts’ estimates of about 50 million devices.
After years of blockbuster sales, many investors fear the iPhone has reached saturation, spelling the end for Apple’s exponential growth.
(Source: REUTERS)