It was destined, bound to happen, was en route, or whatever other synonym you want to append, investors are devastated of what Apple has shown them, and what the Cupertino giant has forecasted to show at the later half of the year. And as a result of that devastation, $40 Billion of Apple’s market cap is gone. Straight.
Reasons are multitude for the more than 8% decline in Apple shares. Biggest of them is investor fear, that the company might have just reached the peak of its iPhone sales (I personally disagree, read more to know why). iPad and Mac are already not the most selling devices. And to top it all, Apple’s latest iPhone SE launch has failed to inspire customers.
Such massive drops aren’t a usual with a company of Apple’s size. Last one was in 2013, when company stocks fell by as much as 10%, due to the uncertainty that surrounded the company. However, it still showed decent progress, unlike this time, when the company has recorded its first ever revenue drop (and a massive one at that) for the first time in 13 years.
This quarter was Apple’s first year-over-year sales dip when it comes to iPhone sales.
So now what ? Well, the company has already forecasted an even doomed upcoming quarter. Here’s what the Cupertino giant thinks it’ll achieve :
- revenue between $41 billion and $43 billion
- gross margin between 37.5 percent and 38 percent
- operating expenses between $6 billion and $6.1 billion
- other income/(expense) of $300 million
- tax rate of 25.5 percent
Personally though, I feel Apple’s biggest and yet the most untapped advantage lies in India, the southern neighbour of its once strongest market — China — which has been a significant reason behind this quarter’s dim results.
Comprising of more young population than almost anywhere in the world (and slated to grow even further) and an ever-rising middle class, Apple has some serious market out here — if ofcourse, tapped intelligently. And that intelligence would require more investment into the country, so as to ultimately start producing those phones in India, making them far cheaper and affordable than what they’re currently being sold at.
As of now, Apple’s shares have hit a 64 day low! Yup.
