Apple's iPhone Sales May Fall up to 50% in China: Industry Expert

By Yasin Ebrahim

Investing.com – Apple's iPhone sales in China may fall sharply in the first quarter of the year, as its supply chain comes under siege from the coronavirus outbreak, an industry expert warned, casting doubt on Wall Street's bullish calls on the iPhone maker.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares fell 1%.

Apple's iPhone sales in China may fall by 40 % to 50% in February and March, compared with the same period last year, as the Covid-19 outbreak has hurt sales of all mobile phone suppliers in China, Liang Zhenpeng, a senior industry expert, told the Global Times on Thursday.

The tech giant's suppliers are already feeling the pain, with Foxconn Technology warning that full-year revenue was expected to take a hit from disruptions to China-based manufacturing by the coronavirus.

Apple's OLED supplier, BOE, told the Global Times on Thursday they are yet to fully restore operations.

"The impact of the outbreak is certainly there and if our other business partners are affected, so are we," said a customer service representative with China's panel display-maker BOE. She noted the iPhone's LCD screens belong to the first-line products and its factory in Beijing has partially resumed production.

The warning signs for a potential protracted delay to iPhone production in China comes against somewhat bullish calls from Wall Street analysts earlier this week as they downplayed the significance of Apple's revenue warning.

Apple said Tuesday it will miss its fiscal second-quarter revenue guidance range of $63 billion to $67 billion.

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