Apple’s terrifying $5b China black hole

Apple has just released earnings data that shows precisely how bad its situation is in China.

The company lost close to US$5 billion in September to December 2018 compared to the previous year (US$13.2 billion versus US$18 billion, respectively), as its trio of new iPhones – XR, XS, XS Max – failed to woo enough shoppers.

Here’s the data, focusing on China in the final three months of each year:

Looking at Apple’s three Asia categories, you’ll see that the final quarter is the most important period in China for the phonemaker (not Chinese New Year in the first quarter) as new iPhones generally hit stores in September or October.

The official financial figures confirm Apple’s shock profit warning at the start of the year, which pinned the blame on its struggles in China amid a shrinking smartphone market.

China’s shoppers last year bought 396 million new smartphones, down 14 percent from 459 million in 2017, according to research firm Canalys.

Here are the top brands in China, based on Canalys’ figures:

• 1st: Huawei – 27 percent market share
• 2nd: Oppo – 20 percent
• 3rd: Vivo – 20 percent
• 4th: Xiaomi – 12 percent
• 5th: Apple – 9 percent
• Others – 12 percent

Only Huawei and Vivo increased sales in a phone market depressed amid sluggish economic growth.

Apple boss Tim Cook / Photo credit: iphonedigital