Apple has predicted its sales are slowing, spooking investors and prompting a fall in its share price.
Apple reviewed its estimated sales for the last three months of the year, with a new estimate of $84 billion (£67 billion). That’s $5 billion less than it predicted in November.
This is the first time in 15 years Apple has revised its guidance to investors.
Apple’s share price sank 7% following the news. Since November, it has fallen more than 28%.
The firm blamed slowing sales in China, a region that accounts for 20% of its revenue.
“While we anticipated some challenges in key emerging markets, we did not foresee the magnitude of the economic deceleration, particularly in Greater China,” CEO Tim Cook wrote in a letter to investors.
But the problems weren’t limited to China. Apple also saw sinking sales in developed markets, where fewer people chose to upgrade to its latest handsets.
Apple’s new iPhones – the iPhone XR, XS and XS Max – launched in September. The firm has pushed up the price of its handsets in recent years, positioning them as more premium products. The ’budget’ model iPhone XR starts at £749.
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