We’ll soon know if Apple made progress drumming up more demand for the latest iPhones in Asia. Weak demand in China caused a surprising year-over-year drop in Apple’s total revenue during the last quarter of 2018.
CEO Tim Cook and co. have just scheduled an earning call with investors for April 30. We’ll find out then if the company managed to improve its situation during the first three months of 2019.
Don’t be optimistic
It’s very unlikely there was already a major turnaround. Especially because Apple itself predicted months ago that it would take in $55 billion during the January-through-March period. That’s well below the $61.1 billion in revenue during the same quarter of 2018.
Cook blamed the shortfall at the end of 2018 on weak iPhone demand in China caused by a slowing economy. Still Apple has been cutting prices in that country, potentially spurring demand.
All of this company’s other products are selling well. iPad sales were up in 2018, and Mac sales are strong. Apple Watch dominates the wearables market. And profits from services are the great hope of the future.
We’ll find out how these factors come together on Apple’s bottom line in four weeks.
Anyone who wants to listen to the iPhone maker’s next conference call with investors can do so on its website. The call wireless is scheduled for April 30, 2019 at 2:00 p.m. PT / 5:00 p.m. ET.
