Apple is full of profits, but sales of the iPhone, its iconic product, are slowing down. So much so that there are those who are starting to see some cracks in the undisputed realm of the technological giant, synonymous with agility and innovation.
In the last quarter of 2015, which for the group of Cupertino (California) corresponds to the first fiscal quarter, net profits reached 18,361 billion dollars, an increase of 1,8% compared to 18,024 billion in the same period of the year before. But iPhone sales stalled at 74,8 million worldwide, against forecasts of 75,46 million. And revenue in the fiscal first quarter ended Dec. 26 fell for the first time in 13 years: 75,9 billion dollars against the 76,54 billion expected by Wall Street analysts. Only last year was the record for smartphones sold by Cupertino recorded, thanks to the introduction of the iPhone Plus at the end of 2014, with the novelty of the larger screen: part phone, part tablet.
Now the trend reversal is attributed by the company's top management to the super dollar, which inevitably influences the number of sales. But there are many investors and analysts who have long explained the drop in sales with the few real news that the latest Apple products have shown, thus generating less enthusiasm than in the past among consumers. But other indicators that hint at a new phase for Apple are the sales of iPads, which have been declining for two years, and those of the Mac line of computers, which are also down in the face of increasingly fierce competition. To this we must then add the disappointing performance so far of the Apple Watch and the still uncertain success of the streaming service.
Stocks on Wall Street closed at $99,99 on Tuesday, up 0,55% against the NYSE Composite's +1,7%. The capitalization is equal to 557,48 billion dollars. However, today Wednesday is expected to be bearish: a almost five hours into the session on the Nasdaq, the index of technology stocks, in pre-open trading the Apple stock dropped 2,79 percent to 97,20 dollars.
