Apple Faces Worst Day Since August, Down 11% from December Peak

New York: Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, was at the Fifth Avenue store for the launch of new products. But things aren’t looking great for Apple right now.

On Thursday, their stock took a hit, closing down 4%. This is the worst day for Apple since early August. The drop comes after reports showed that iPhone sales in China are struggling.

From its peak in December, Apple’s stock is down nearly 12%. It’s also the worst performer among the top seven tech stocks this year. A report from Canalys revealed that Apple has slipped to third place in smartphone sales in China, trailing behind Vivo and Huawei.

Last year, Apple shipped 15% of the 284 million phones sold in China, but that’s a 17% drop from the previous year. Meanwhile, Vivo and Huawei are seeing strong growth.

Adding to the concern, TSMC, a major supplier for Apple, forecasted a nearly 6% drop in smartphone sales for the first quarter. They attributed this to seasonal trends, noting that AI chips are now making up over half of their revenue, overtaking smartphones.

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicts a 6% decline in iPhone shipments for the first half of 2025, especially in the second quarter. He also mentioned that Apple’s AI system isn’t boosting iPhone demand in China.

Apple is set to report its December quarter results on January 30, so we’ll see how things unfold then.