Apple Stocks Plummet as Company Faces Series of Bad News
In recent news on March 6, technology giant Apple has been hit with a series of setbacks, causing a decline in its concept stocks. As of press time, Gaowei Electronics dropped nearly 7%, while BYD Electronics fell more than 3%.
One of the major blows to Apple came in the form of a hefty fine imposed by the European Union. The tech company was fined 1.8 billion euros, approximately 14 billion yuan, for allegedly abusing App Store rules. This marks the first time Apple has faced an antitrust penalty and stands as one of the largest fines issued by the European Union against a technology company.
Adding to the negative momentum, investment bank Goldman Sachs removed Apple from its list of best companies to buy. Concerns over weak demand for its flagship products and underperformance of its stock price were cited as the reasons for the removal. Additionally, Apple was also taken off the tactical outperform list by investment bank Evercore ISI.
Further compounding Apple’s woes, recent data from Counterpoint Research revealed a concerning 24% year-on-year decline in iPhone sales in China during the first six weeks of the year. This drop placed Apple in fourth position among Chinese smartphone suppliers. Renowned Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo expressed that the market has started to lower its iPhone sales forecast for the year. Kuo added that if Apple fails to launch a generative AI service that exceeds market expectations, there is a likelihood that Nvidia’s market value could surpass that of Apple.
As Apple navigates through these challenges, industry experts and investors are closely monitoring the company’s next moves to regain its footing in the technology market.