Yesterday, Apple released its first-quarter earnings for the 2018 fiscal year ending Dec. 30, 2017, the company's first earnings report after the listing of the expensive flagship smartphone iPhone X. The company said in its earnings that the holiday IPhone sales during the peak season were lower than expected, with Apple's chief financial officer Luca Maestri also predicting the iPhone's average selling price will decline in the quarter, suggesting that the most expensive iPhone is less affected welcome.
Apple's first quarter results, reflecting the global downturn in the overall smart phone industry.According to market research firm Strategy Analytics data, the fourth quarter of 2017 global smartphone shipments fell 9% year on year, is the history of the largest decline one season.
On Friday, U.S. agency Steven Milunovich, an analyst at UBS, wrote in a note to investors: 'The iPhone's supercycle is over.'
Apple shares closed at $ 160.50 on Friday on a regular basis, down 4.34% from the previous session, setting the biggest one-day drop in the stock for more than six months. Since the beginning of this year, the stock has fallen 4% %.
Toni Sacconaghi, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein, an investment bank, wrote in a note to investors: 'The end result is that, relative to previous expectations, this round Cycle is very weak, iPhone sales may be flat for the third consecutive year in total. "He downgraded Apple's stock rating to 'flat with the broader market' and its target price from 195 US dollars down to 170 US dollars.
The downturn in the global smart phone market is also hurting other companies, with Verizon Communications, the largest wireless carrier in the United States, offering unlimited traffic packages to appeal to customers as it becomes more difficult to attract new customers in a saturated, competitive market.
Qualcomm Inc., the largest mobile chip maker, is seeing orders from big customers dwindling and is turning to other types of processors, and the company is also hoping for faster 5G wireless networks and new handsets, hoping They can restore the growth of the industry.
Milunović also said that Apple is adjusting its operational readiness to focus on the existing large user base and how to make more profits from it - rather than selling more phones each year.
Indeed, Tim Cook, Apple's chief executive, stressed late Thursday that there are 1.3 billion Apple devices currently in use by customers, up 30% in two years. The company is trying to sell through those devices More services and more accessories and related products.In the first quarter, Apple Services revenue grew 18%, while other products, including smart watches and AirPods sales increased 36% .
Late Thursday, Milutinovic and other analysts questioned Apple executives during a conference call with analysts after Apple released its earnings report.
Milunovic Chiefs: 'Your installation base has grown by more than 20%, but sales growth is relatively flat, which means your equipment upgrade is slowing down or your equipment replacement cycle is getting longer. Do you agree with this?
Cook suggested not to look at 90-day sales: "More importantly, it's about taking longer to consider customer satisfaction, engagement, and the amount of active equipment."
However, in the long term, the global smartphone market remains sluggish, with global smartphone shipments down 0.1% and iPhone shipments up only 0.2% year-over-year in 2017, according to research firm IDC.However, Apple's recent track record Good, did not let many fans lose confidence in the company.
Gene Munster, co-founder of venture capital firm Loup Ventures, said in a report that the ability of Apple products to get higher prices "has never been so clear." In less than expected sales of the iPhone, the company Indeed 'hobbled', but he is optimistic about Apple's 'transition from the existing iPhone platform to a future AR-driven platform.'