Apple stock (AAPL) has had a rotten August.
Shares of the tech behemoth have plunged 10.8% to $175.07 this month compared to a 4.8% drop for the S&P 500 and a 3% decline for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI), per Yahoo Finance data. The stock has now entered a technical correction — down about 11% from its July 31 high of $196.45.
A correction is often defined as a decline of at least 10% in a stock price or market from a peak.
The pullback in Apple reflects several factors, experts say.
First and foremost is the increasing economic pressure in China that unfolded in August.
Fears on the health of over-leveraged property developers, a slow-to-act Chinese government on the yawning crisis, and a sagging stock market have clouded the outlook for Apple product demand.
The importance of China to Apple’s results shouldn’t be understated.
Apple’s sales in Greater China rose 8% in the most recent quarter to $15.76 billion. Sales of iPhones in the country increased by a double-digit percentage as consumers upgraded their smartphones.
Greater China is seen hauling in $67.2 billion in sales for Apple in the fiscal year ended Sept. 24, 2023, representing 18% of total sales. Wall Street analysts currently expect sales in Greater China to increase nearly 16% in Apple’s new fiscal year on the back of brisk demand for the iPhone 15.
But CEO Tim Cook appeared to tamp down expectations on China by signing off on a cautious September quarter financial outlook when it reported results earlier this month.
Apple guided to a modest year-over-year revenue decline. The Street was banking on slight growth in the quarter.
“We continued to face an uneven macroeconomic environment,” Cook told analysts on an earnings call.
With the potential for a China sales letdown, investors have opted to sell Apple first and ask questions later.
What could be a ho-hum iPhone 15 introduction in mid-September hasn’t helped sentiment around Apple. Apple is widely expected to show off incremental improvements, such as replacing the iPhone’s notch, to its cash cow piece of hardware rather than something transformational.
In other words, don’t expect a foldable phone from Apple à la Samsung.
“We think the iPhone 15 will be more of an evolutionary product vs. a revolutionary one,” Evercore ISI analyst Amit Daryanani said.
Despite the concerns and stock price slide, the sell-side community continues to stick with Apple. There has been only one downgrade of note from investment banks: Rosenblatt Securities analyst Barton Crockett cut his Apple rating to Neutral from Buy.
“We would be buying Apple as a pound the table name into the next iPhone 15 cycle around the corner and a new tech bull market underway, despite the bears coming out of hibernation and the cookie cutter Fed higher for longer [interest rate] thesis,” Wedbush analyst Dan Ives told Yahoo Finance.
Brian Sozzi is Yahoo Finance’s Executive Editor. Follow Sozzi on Twitter @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn. Tips on deals, mergers, activist situations, or anything else? Email brian.sozzi@yahoofinance.com.
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