Apple's iPhone sales plummet from last quarter

By Ovunc Kutlu

NEW YORK

U.S. technology giant Apple saw its iPhone sales fall short of expectations in the second quarter, according to its earnings report released Tuesday.

Total sales of iPhone models during the January-March period dropped 32 percent to 52.2 million units from 77.3 million units in the October-December period last year.

Apple introduced the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus on Sept. 22 last year and its most expensive smartphone, the iPhone X, on Nov. 3.

Despite a starting price of $1,000 for the iPhone X, revenue from total iPhone sales fell 38 percent to $38 billion from $61.6 billion during the period.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, a major supplier for the iPhone, reported on April 19 that there is softer demand for smartphone chipsets.

On April 19 and 20, Apple saw a 6.8 percent decline in its share price on the New York Stock Exchange, erasing $63.3 billion from its market value.

But Apple shares climbed 4.3 percent in after-hours trading Tuesday due to an increase in net income and revenue year-over-year.

During the January-March period this year, Apple saw its net income 15.5 percent on year to $61.1 billion while revenue jumped 25.5 percent to $13.8 billion.