The Blubber

Apple, $AAPL, sales declined for a fourth straight quarter, marking the longest slowdown since 2001.

Apple reported a decline in sales for a fourth consecutive quarter, marking its longest slowdown since 2001. This comes as the company faces challenges in the sluggish Mac market and wavering demand in China.

In the fiscal fourth quarter ending on September 30, Apple's revenue dropped to $89.5 billion, slightly above the average Wall Street estimate of $89.4 billion. The company, however, refrained from providing formal guidance for the current quarter, following the pandemic-era policy.

Notably, the results indicate a more substantial deceleration in China than initially anticipated, partly due to government bans on U.S. technology in some workplaces and heightened competition from Huawei Technologies Co. Revenue from the Chinese region amounted to $15.1 billion last quarter, slightly down from the previous year and well below the $17 billion predicted by analysts.

Apple's stock price fell by less than 1% in after-hours trading, closing at $177.57 in New York. The stock had seen a 37% increase throughout the year.

In the fourth quarter, the company updated its flagship product, the iPhone, which included a little over a week of sales data following the device's September 22 launch. Apple also introduced new watch models, the Series 9 and Ultra 2, and added a USB-C port to its AirPods Pro.

Despite these challenges, the iPhone's performance slightly exceeded expectations. It generated $43.8 billion in sales, surpassing the average estimate of $43.7 billion. The device even reached a quarterly revenue record in mainland China. Earnings came in at $1.46 per share last quarter, exceeding the $1.39 forecast.

Since the iPhone accounts for approximately half of Apple's sales, the launch of a new model is closely monitored by investors. With the iPhone 15, Apple redesigned the high-end versions by incorporating titanium cases and enhanced features such as a more powerful zoom camera lens, aiming to attract smartphone shoppers who had been retaining their older models for more extended periods.

It's worth noting that Apple had a more favorable year-over-year comparison this cycle as the 2022 iPhone 14 Pro models had faced supply constraints due to manufacturing partner shutdowns in China, which did not affect the iPhone 15 Pro.

Apple's report follows a positive outlook from Qualcomm Inc., the leading producer of smartphone chips, which projected stronger sales for the current quarter, exceeding analyst expectations and causing a surge in its stock.