Apple’s CEO Tim Cook blamed weak iPhone sales, primarily in China, for “all of our revenue shortfall to our guidance,” he wrote in a Jan.2 letter to investors. But analysts see more problems on the horizon: Apple’s revenue streams may fall even further due to increasingly fierce competition combined with weakening demand amid the country’s economic malaise. The market research firm said Apple shipped 44.6 million units in China last year, a 10% decline from 2017. Moreover, Apple’s devices are also vulnerable to tariffs as a manufacturer because its products are assembled in China and sold globally, meaning they can be hit by tariffs from either side. “Apple’s China performance can be even weaker in 2019,” Yan says.

Source: Forbes January 04, 2019 08:37 UTC