iPhone Slump? Apple Faces Record Slide as Growth Stalls

In 2023, Apple’s market capitalization momentarily soared beyond $3 trillion, crowning it the company with the highest market value worldwide. However, this milestone does not necessarily denote a successful performance for the year. According to recent survey reports, Apple experienced its most protracted revenue decline in 22 years, and 2024 may present several challenges.

As reported by CNBC, Apple’s sales have witnessed a consecutive four-quarter year-on-year decline. Despite this, the total revenue for the fiscal year 2023 is still expected to reach $383 billion, with profits of around $97 billion.

Data indicates that Apple is grappling with the global economic slowdown, with hardware sales dwindling each quarter, posing a significant challenge for Apple in 2024. Notably, the iPad business, which did not launch new products in the fiscal year 2023, saw a revenue of $28.3 billion, a 3.4% decline from the previous year. More troublingly, the Mac product line, revamped with the new M-series chips, appears to have lost its allure, with its revenue plummeting by 28% to $10.2 billion in the fiscal year 2023. The silver lining, however, is the iPhone business, which, bolstered by exclusive upgrades, maintained robust sales for its premium models. Nevertheless, Huawei’s resurgence might pose a challenge to iPhone sales in 2024.

Contrary to its revenue performance, Apple’s stock price surged by 49% in 2023. While this rise is noteworthy, it still trails behind many of its peers: Nvidia’s stock price more than doubled this year, Meta climbed by nearly 200%, Amazon rose by 83%, and Alphabet and Microsoft increased by 59% and 57%, respectively.

Previous reports have suggested that analysts value Apple’s services sector between $1.5 trillion and $1.6 trillion, anticipating its robust performance to propel Apple’s market capitalization to $4 trillion in 2024. However, Apple may face several other challenges in the upcoming year, including antitrust investigations into the App Store by regulatory authorities, leading some investment institutions to view its prospects with less optimism.