Apple revenue drops for the fourth straight quarter in what the company’s longest slump in 22 years

Revenue fell to $89.5 billion in the fiscal fourth quarter, which ended Sept. 30, the company said in a statement Thursday. That compared with an average Wall Street estimate of $89.4 billion. Apple didn’t provide formal guidance for the current quarter, sticking with a policy it adopted during the pandemic.

The results suggest that Apple is facing a bigger deceleration in China than feared. The government there has imposed iPhone bans in some workplaces, and a new phone from Huawei Technologies Co. is providing fresh competition. Revenue from that region amounted to $15.1 billion last quarter, well short of the $17 billion analysts had predicted.

Apple shares fell 1.5% in late trading after closing at $177.57 in New York. The stock had been up 37% this year.

The company updated the iPhone, its flagship product, during the fourth quarter. The period included a little over a week of sales data following the device’s launch on Sept. 22. The Cupertino, California-based company also released new watch models — the Series 9 and Ultra 2 — and updated its AirPods Pro to add a USB-C port.

Even with the challenges, the iPhone performed slightly better than projected. It generated $43.8 billion in sales, compared with an average estimate of $43.7 billion. 

The iPhone accounts for roughly half of Apple’s sales, so the launch of a new model is closely watched by investors. With the iPhone 15, the company redesigned the high-end versions — giving them titanium cases — and added features such as a more powerful zoom camera lens. The hope was to entice smartphone shoppers who had been holding onto their old models for longer these days.

The report follows an upbeat view from Qualcomm Inc., the leading maker of smartphone chips. On Wednesday, it forecast stronger sales for the current quarter than analysts expected, kicking off a rally for its stock.

The personal computer market also is poised for a rebound, but Apple didn’t debut any new models during the quarter. It did unveil new MacBook Pros, iMacs and M3 processors earlier this week, but sales of those machines won’t show up in Apple results until the quarter ending in December.

Apple made $7.61 billion from the Mac during the fourth quarter, missing forecasts of $8.76 billion. The company did release some new computers earlier this year, including a 15-inch MacBook Air and faster desktops. 

Revenue for the September quarter might have been stronger if the company had released new iPads during the period, which it sometimes does, or made more significant changes to its accessories. The latest Apple Watches and AirPods only represent modest tweaks from their predecessors.