Apple shares dropped 10% overnight on Wednesday, as the firm announced iPhone sales figures missing its previous forecast of 50m units. In one of its most eagerly anticipated earnings updates of recent years, Apple reported no rise in profits and slightly missed revenue estimates, suggesting its period of hyper-growth is coming to an end. Net […]
Apple shares dropped 10% overnight on Wednesday, as the firm announced iPhone sales figures missing its previous forecast of 50m units.
In one of its most eagerly anticipated earnings updates of recent years, Apple reported no rise in profits and slightly missed revenue estimates, suggesting its period of hyper-growth is coming to an end.
Net profit came in at $13.1bn (£8.7bn), unchanged from a year earlier due in part to higher costs associated with new product launches.
Revenue was up 18% at $54.5bn, thanks to record sales of iPhones and iPads, the company said.
But Apple shares fell in after-hours trading, as sales of the iPhone in particular disappointed.
The news wiped $50bn from Apple’s market value, as shares collapsed 10% in after-hours trading.
Apple sold 47.8m iPhones over the Christmas quarter, missing a forecast average of around 50m.
Apple’s stock has fallen by 30% since reaching its all-time peak of $705.07 in September, and last week fell below $500 for the first time in 11 months after reports that production of liquid crystal displays for its screens had been slashed for the beginning of this year after lower than expected demand.
While smartphone sales are booming for all major players, the Android operating system created by Google and used by Samsung and HTC is growing much faster than Apple’s iOS.
Android is estimated to have taken 69% of the smartphone market in the last three months of 2012, up from 53% a year before, according to research firm IDC.
Apple’s global share is believed to have dipped from 23% to 21% according to the IDC.
