Apple tumbles after supply crunch cuts sales by US$6B
BNN Bloomberg
Apple Inc. fell in late trading after quarterly revenue missed analysts’ estimates, hurt by supply constraints that took a bigger-than-expected bite out of sales.
Apple Inc. fell in late trading after quarterly revenue missed analysts’ estimates, hurt by supply constraints that took a bigger-than-expected bite out of sales.
Fiscal fourth-quarter revenue amounted to US$83.4 billion, the tech giant said Thursday, missing estimates of US$84.7 billion. That represents growth of 29 per cent from the year-earlier period, but that quarter didn’t include a new iPhone. Apple released the iPhone 13 in the last few weeks of the latest quarter, helping bolster sales.
The results spark fresh concerns about Apple’s ability to navigate a global supply crunch that has wreaked havoc on the auto, tech and consumer-product industries. The company has a slew of new products that it needs to get into consumers’ hands before the holidays, a period that’s expected to set sales records. In addition to the iPhone upgrade, the company has rolled out new watches, iPads, Mac computers and other items.
Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said on a conference call that the supply constraints were worse than expected last quarter and cost it about US$6 billion. Consumer demand was very strong, he said.
The shares tumbled as much as 5.3 per cent to US$144.42 in late trading after the results were released. They had been up 15 per cent this year through Thursday’s close.
Last quarter, Apple generated US$38.9 billion in sales from the iPhone -- its flagship product -- including purchases of the new and old models. That missed Wall Street expectations of US$41.6 billion.
