• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Despite having a $165 million net worth, Scarlett Johansson says work-life balance doesn’t exist—and the first step to success is admitting that

2

The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises

3

Current price of oil as of May 15, 2026

1

Despite having a $165 million net worth, Scarlett Johansson says work-life balance doesn’t exist—and the first step to success is admitting that

2

The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises

3

Current price of oil as of May 15, 2026
TechApple

Here’s What Analysts Are Saying About Apple’s Slowing iPhone Sales

By
Jonathan Vanian
Jonathan Vanian
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Jonathan Vanian
Jonathan Vanian
Down Arrow Button Icon
January 3, 2019, 3:26 PM ET

Apple kicked in the New Year by revealing that sales of the company’s flagship iPhone are slowing, resulting in the company revising its first quarter 2019 revenue guidance to $84 billion instead of the $89 billion and $93 billion it projected just a few months ago.

In a letter to investors published Wednesday, Apple CEO Tim Cook pointed to two problems in particular that led to the sudden move: Economic weakness in emerging markets that impacted Apple more than it expected, and fewer iPhone upgrades that the company also failed to anticipate.

Wall Street did not take kindly to the news with Apple’s shares tumbling 8% in after-hours trading to $145.15 a share after a momentary halt.

Apple tried to soften the blow on Thursday by saying that spending in the company’s app store hit a record high of more than $1.22 billion during the recent holiday season, but it wasn’t enough to soothe worried investors. Apple shares are down 9.27% in midday trading on Wednesday at $143.28.

Here’s what some Apple analysts are saying about the company’s iPhone woes, particularly in China:

Toni Sacconaghi of Bernstein Research highlighted in an analyst note that Apple did not outright attribute the slowdown of it’s iPhone sales to the smartphones’ high price tags. Apple has been steadily raising the price of its newest and most powerful iPhones each year, with some models now topping $1,000.

Sacconaghi acknowledged that “a meaningful portion of the China weakness is macro driven,” which means there are circumstances beyond Apple’s control. But, he noted that Apple “appears to have lost material share in China in Q4 despite its new product launch, and that Apple has struggled in China before, underscoring the fickleness and lower lock-in of Chinese consumers.”

Indeed, Apple faces several tough Chinese competitors like Huawei and Xiaomi that are now selling cheaper smartphones that are increasingly popular in China, as research firms like IDC have previously reported.

From Sacconaghi:

Perhaps in part because there are no easy fixes, Apple failed to acknowledge the possibility that current iPhone prices are simply too high (stunningly, we note that iPhones prices are nearly 5x higher than the average non-Apple smartphone sold globally). Moreover, we believe that the high-end smartphone market is fully mature with *structurally* elongating replacement cycles, which we maintain is the company’s key long-term challenge.

Meanwhile, UBS analysts appear more confident that Apple’s growing services business, which includes app store and iCloud storage, could help the company make up for slower iPhone sales. These analysts said in a research note that services represent a huge business opportunity for Apple. While the analysts acknowledged that slower iPhone sales “ultimately presents services headwinds,” meaning there’s a chance the services business could potentially take a hit along with the iPhone business, there’s still a “has huge untapped services rev pool.”

Macquarie Research analysts, however, have a more grim view of Apple’s services business. These analysts said that while Apple’s services business jumped 27.5% year over year to $10.8 billion in December, they “are quite concerned that Services growth is going to slow meaningfully beginning in the March” quarter.

One of the problems for Apple’s services business, the Macquarie Research analysts noted, is that some of its biggest drivers of sales like Apple Care support and app store revenue are likely to shrink while faster growing services like iCloud and Apple Music “are not big enough to offset the slowdown.” Slower sales of the iPhone likely means that fewer people will be servicing their iPhones through the Apple Care support program, the analysts noted, while Apple’s app store is likely to face its own set of challenges.

For instance, Netflix has recently altered the way people can sign up to its video streaming service so that a cut of the company’s sales don’t have to trickle back to Apple via the app store. More maneuvers like this from other companies could significantly impact the revenue Apple gleans from its app store.

Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

Dan Ives of Wedbush said in an analyst note that Apple’s news of its revised guidance on slowing iPhone sales “was clearly Apple’s darkest day in our opinion and represents a challenging growth period ahead for the company (and its investors).”

From Ives:

Apple’s decisions over the coming months around pricing, future hardware redesigns, timing of 5G smartphones, and driving its core services business will have implications for years to come as Cupertino now faces the biggest fear among bulls which is an installed base (we estimate roughly 750 million active iPhones worldwide) that could stall out and not grow over the coming years and in a nightmare scenario decline.

Although many analysts were worried over Apple’s iPhone issues, one remains unconcerned and upgraded Apple shares to “neutral” instead of “sell.” as CNBC noted. New Street Research analyst Pierre Ferragu said in a research note that the worst appears to be over for Apple, which indicates that things can only get better.

“We nevertheless expect the situation to stabilize in 2020 and EPS growth to resume,” Ferragu said. “The stock is now trading close to 10x our 2020 earnings expectation, a historic low in absolute and relative terms, and see limited further downside to the stock.”

About the Author
By Jonathan Vanian
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Jonathan Vanian is a former Fortune reporter. He covered business technology, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, data privacy, and other topics.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

olivier
CommentaryAnthropic
I’ve been studying Big Tech for a long time. What just happened with Anthropic and the Pentagon terrifies me
By Olivier SylvainMay 16, 2026
8 minutes ago
bhaskar
Economydisruption
The prophet of the ‘Wired Belt’ says capitalism is finally eating itself
By Bhaskar ChakravortiMay 16, 2026
2 hours ago
lawyer
CommentaryLaw
Would you hire the lawyer who just got sanctioned for using AI?
By Alexandra SmythMay 16, 2026
2 hours ago
connor vukelich
Future of WorkGen Z
Meet the 20-year-old CEO who launched a company in high school to solve Gen Z’s entry-level job crisis
By Jake AngeloMay 16, 2026
4 hours ago
IDEO invented ‘human-centered design.’ Can it survive an AI world where everything looks the same?
Asiadesign thinking
IDEO invented ‘human-centered design.’ Can it survive an AI world where everything looks the same?
By Nicholas GordonMay 16, 2026
5 hours ago
Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer of Meta Platforms Inc., left, and US President Donald Trump during a dinner with tech leaders in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025. US President Donald Trump said he would be imposing tariffs on semiconductor imports "very shortly" but spare goods from companies like Apple Inc. that have pledged to boost their US investments. Photographer: Will Oliver/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Big TechDonald Trump
How Trump’s ‘unusual’ brokerage account traded around his own market-moving decisions—selling hyperscalers and buying energy stocks during the war
By Eva RoytburgMay 15, 2026
12 hours ago

Most Popular

Despite having a $165 million net worth, Scarlett Johansson says work-life balance doesn’t exist—and the first step to success is admitting that
Success
Despite having a $165 million net worth, Scarlett Johansson says work-life balance doesn’t exist—and the first step to success is admitting that
By Preston ForeMay 13, 2026
3 days ago
The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
Politics
The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
By Jake AngeloMay 12, 2026
4 days ago
Current price of oil as of May 15, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of May 15, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerMay 15, 2026
24 hours ago
Nearly 50,000 Lake Tahoe residents have to find a new power source after their energy source looks to redirect lines to data centers
Travel & Leisure
Nearly 50,000 Lake Tahoe residents have to find a new power source after their energy source looks to redirect lines to data centers
By Catherina GioinoMay 12, 2026
4 days ago
The airplane fuel shortage is a myth propagated by airlines who want to cancel unprofitable flights, says private jet CEO
Energy
The airplane fuel shortage is a myth propagated by airlines who want to cancel unprofitable flights, says private jet CEO
By Jim EdwardsMay 14, 2026
2 days ago
Top economist says $39 trillion national debt leaves government worse prepared for recession than ever
Economy
Top economist says $39 trillion national debt leaves government worse prepared for recession than ever
By Eva RoytburgMay 14, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.