Apple’s stock falls after iPhone sales drop

Apple’s revenue growth ground to a halt in the first three months of the year, as the coronavirus pandemic shuttered its retail stores, dampened consumer demand for iPhones, and rattled the company’s global manufacturing operations.

Apple’s revenue edged up by 1% from the same time last year to $58.3 billion during the company’s fiscal second quarter. To no one’s surprise, the iPhone was the company’s hardest-hit segment, with sales for the device falling 7% from the same time last year. Apple’s profits fell to $11.2 billion, a 2% decline from last year. The company told investors Thursday that iPhone sales will deteriorate even further during the April-June quarter.

The numbers were far better than analysts, who were braced for a 6% revenue decline, had feared. “Investors were expecting a Friday the 13th like a quarter,”

The factories in China are open and operating at normal levels again, but the closures created ripple effects that are expected to delay the fall release of Apple’s next iPhone models by at least a month. Apple’s stores remain closed in many parts of the world as part of efforts to limit the spread of COVID-19.