Apple stock drops after Rogers CEO says iPhone 8/Plus demand ‘anemic’

Thursday, October 19, 2017 · 3:58 pm · 33 Comments

“Apple Inc’s shares fell nearly 3 percent on Thursday on signs of weak demand for the iPhone 8 that caused analysts and investors to question the company’s staggered release strategy for its latest phones,” Supantha Mukherjee reports for Reuters.

“Wireless carriers in the United States and Canada have reported slow third-quarter customer upgrades,” Mukherjee reports. “The chief executive of Rogers Communication, Canada’s largest mobile network, on Thursday said appetite for the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, which went on sale in September, had been ‘anemic.'”

“The uncertainty about demand coupled with a Taiwan media report of a cut in iPhone 8 production pushed Apple shares down 2.8 percent by midday,” Mukherjee reports. “A carrier store survey suggested the cheaper iPhone 7 was outselling its successor just a month after iPhone 8’s launch, KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst John Vinh said this week.”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Gee, wonder why?

Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful. — Warren Buffett

Given that those who are not waiting for iPhone X (the vast majority of Day One newest-release iPhone buyers are waiting for iPhone X) are much more likely to be price sensitive consumers, it is wholly unsurprising that they are choosing the less expensive options, iPhone 7/Plus. We expect iPhone 6/Plus units are also selling well downmarket.

SEE ALSO:
Jim Cramer: The action in Apple’s stock is a lesson on buying into weakness – October 17, 2017
Analyst: Apple’s iPhone 7 is outselling iPhone 8 – October 16, 2017

Categories: News

Tags: AAPL, Apple stock, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X, John Vinh, KeyBanc Capital Markets

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Comment Feed

32 Comments

1 2 Next »

DogGoneToo

Thursday, October 19, 2017 - 4:07 pm · Reply

A lot of stocks are down too. I thought it was a more general drop but that type of news will always drop AAPL.
- alanaudio
  
  Friday, October 20, 2017 - 4:06 am · Reply
  
  You can set your clock by this sort of rumour.
  
  Apple will announce it’s financial results on Nov 3rd and is now in a state of ‘purdah’, where it cannot comment on financial matters until then. Rumour mongers love to take advantage of these periods because the rumour can destabilise AAPL temporarily ( which is profitable for shot sellers and manipulators ) and Apple can’t say anything to counter that rumour. Once the financial results have been announced and reality returns, the stock will revert to it’s proper value.
  Rinse and repeat.
  
  If people are fool enough to sell at times like this, then they deserve to be parted with their money.
tincan2012

Thursday, October 19, 2017 - 4:12 pm · Reply

‘Anemic sales of iPhones’ could signal problems for carriers too. Rogers shares may have been dropped down by his comments as well..
- Xennex1170
  
  Thursday, October 19, 2017 - 7:03 pm · Reply
  
  Probably depends on how large the iPhone customer base is in proportion to their entire customer base.
- Hiram
  
  Thursday, October 19, 2017 - 10:22 pm · Reply
  
  Rogers showing anemic iPhone sales is not surprising, given that current Rogers customers who want to add an LTE Apple Watch will have to change carriers to Bell. Rogers network is too old to support the watch and will be for a couple of years. So Rogers customers interested in the watch will either delay upgrading or at least postpone to see if they rush network upgrades.
wade

Thursday, October 19, 2017 - 4:24 pm · Reply

No surprise. The real surge will come with iPhone X release.

And there was an article I think on this website recently..about buyer psychology, about how the iPhone 8 is in some ways meant to spur sales of iPhone 7 to more price sensitive buyers due to the inevitable comparisons. The iPhone 8 also functions as a way to motivate greater sales of iPhone X, again by comparison, for those looking for latest/greatest features.

So even if iPhone 8 is not selling as well right from the start, there is the fact that because of it the iPhone 7 may be selling even better. And because of iPhone 8 the iPhone X may sell better.
- Xennex1170
  
  Thursday, October 19, 2017 - 7:05 pm · Reply
  
  I could see the iPhone 8 selling better when the X is released to ‘cost conscious’ customers in the market for a device/upgrade at that time.
Anemic Strategy

Thursday, October 19, 2017 - 4:25 pm · Reply

Apple really pigeonholed themselves. They could of released an iPhone 8 with reduced bezels, fingerprint sensor on the back of the phone (possibly within the Apple logo), aluminum casing, no “wireless” charging, and the same screen as the iPhone 7. They could of also released the iPhone X in its current iteration and had a “super cycle”. Now, it looks like they will have a loser cycle.
- wade
  
  Thursday, October 19, 2017 - 4:51 pm · Reply
  
  Apple will still have its super cycle, only starting a bit later on Nov 3. And iPhone 8 sales are not necessarily poor because of what one carrier in one market says. I was at an Apple Store in Florida a few days ago and there was a line for the iPhone 8, even a few weeks after its release…I asked the sales person and he said that this is true every day, mostly due to tourists from other countries. So the i8 is selling well at least in some areas.
  
  And if Apple had released iPhone 8 with fingerprint sensor on back…whoa, the criticism would have been intense. And of course then you don’t have wireless charging, which is going to become a big thing.
  
  I have to say that the strategy of the commenter “Anemic Strategy” is rather anemic. Apple will be just fine…it will have a huge launch that in essence will last for quite some time.
  - macnificentseven48
    
    Thursday, October 19, 2017 - 6:14 pm · Reply
    
    Maybe you’re right about a huge iPhone X launch, but all this negative chatter is going to prove hell for shareholders this quarter while Microsoft and the FANG stocks continue to soar. As I said, before, Apple is nothing but a patsy for the news media. Don’t expect Tim Cook to say anything useful to lessen investors’ concerns, not that it would do any good.
  - Xennex1170
    
    Thursday, October 19, 2017 - 7:07 pm · Reply
    
    Why do you believe placing the fingerprint sensor on the back would exclude wireless charging?
- Michael
  
  Thursday, October 19, 2017 - 4:57 pm · Reply
  
  Yes, yes, if only Apple had contacted you they wouldn’t be filing for bankruptcy right now. I’m pretty sure Apple knows their customer base better than you do. I’m also sure Apple’s strategy is working as well as they intended.
  
  Apple always cuts back production AFTER release, go check the history books. Has it ever been 50% ? No. But they’ve also never had another (higher-end) model waiting to be released. It would be extremely worrisome, if this cut back occurred without the iPhone X.
  
  Demand for the X will be much stronger than anyone expected, and will leave the market analysts and other industry players wondering how in the hell Apple manages to pull these things off… again and again.
  - Bill
    
    Thursday, October 19, 2017 - 5:06 pm · Reply
    
    Correct— now back to aPPLe is dooooomed….no more innovations……seellll everything………
    
    LOL!! GLTA!
- DavGreg
  
  Thursday, October 19, 2017 - 5:30 pm · Reply
  
  Osborne Effect
- cococanuck
  
  Thursday, October 19, 2017 - 5:31 pm · Reply
  
  Could have
  - Herself
    
    Thursday, October 19, 2017 - 9:20 pm · Reply
    
    See my impudent rejoinder below
- auramac
  
  Thursday, October 19, 2017 - 5:45 pm · Reply
  
  “Could of?” Seriously?
  
  Could have.
  - Herself
    
    Thursday, October 19, 2017 - 8:59 pm · Reply
    
    It’s wrong, but not that wrong. In speech, ‘could of’ sounds just like ‘could’ve,’ which is a correctly formed contraction of ‘could have.’
    
    Thus doth English mockery extend to making the pen betray the tongue. ‘Twas simpler for the Bard of Avon; ‘what’s in a name’ had no true answer in an age of angels and essences. Back then, spelling was an art, not a forensic science.
    - Dorkself
      
      Friday, October 20, 2017 - 5:17 pm · Reply
      
      Will you merry me?
wade

Thursday, October 19, 2017 - 5:18 pm · Reply

Apple has a great problem: it’s most expensive model is the one that most people want! Sheer genius!
- Not Great Products
  
  Thursday, October 19, 2017 - 6:09 pm · Reply
  
  I really, really, really want the iPhone X, but that botched notch is just killing it for me. And even though it looks like it was designed by a monkey, I will still get it if there is a decent trade-in discount. If no discount then no buy.
  
  So, I am an unhappy customer because of how lazy Apple has become. I’m sure some customers will just say screw it and leave the Apple ecosystem. Others won’t buy any iPhone this year.
  
  Taking everything into account: the anemic carrier remark, the 900K less AT&T upgrades, the 50% reduction in orders, Apple will probably sell around 15 million fewer iPhones this December quarter compared to last year. It might be a super cycle: a super bad cycle.
  - wade
    
    Thursday, October 19, 2017 - 7:54 pm · Reply
    
    I am so glad that you are such a great analyst, that you can forecast iPhone sales better than even the professionals, who often get it wrong as well.
    
    As so many others have remarked, sales of the i8 are lower due to people holding out for an even higher priced, higher margin model. That’s great for Apple. The 50% reduction in orders is due to the iPhone X hitting the market, and soaking the sales. Then you have the fact that the iPhone 7 is probably selling better than any other iPhone model at this point in its life cycle. The key is overall iPhone sales. They are and will be super strong. The only constraint will be how many iPhone X’s that Apple can produce.
    
    Other companies should be so lucky to have Apple’s problems.
DavGreg

Thursday, October 19, 2017 - 5:30 pm · Reply

I would not call is price sensitive: I would call it not crazy. $1,000 for a phone is a joke. If I had Bill Gates money I would not spend that much for a phone.
- auramac
  
  Thursday, October 19, 2017 - 5:47 pm · Reply
  
  Really? Sure.
- wade
  
  Thursday, October 19, 2017 - 7:57 pm · Reply
  
  $1000 is not for a phone, but a portable connected super computer that fits in your pocket. That’s what the iPhone is. And for what it does, it’s pretty reasonable.
  
  Then factor in the way most people pay for their phones is through carrier financing, which spreads out the payments and makes it affordable to most.
  
  The smartphone has become an almost indispensable tool of our modern era, much like the car but is of course priced far lower.
  - Jeff
    
    Friday, October 20, 2017 - 4:36 pm · Reply
    
    Pound for pound it is actually much higher priced than most cars. Cars usually get replaced by their owner every 5-10 Years not very 1-3 Years.
cococanuck

Thursday, October 19, 2017 - 5:34 pm · Reply

I think many many people are waiting for iPhone X. I am.

And Rogers and its CEO suck. They have no plans to offer LTE for Apple Watch. I am changing carriers to solve that problem.
macnificentseven48

Thursday, October 19, 2017 - 6:10 pm · Reply

I’d sure like to know how anyone knows that the cutback was 50%. Does Apple make a general announcement, “We’re cutting back 50% of all iPhone 8 units.” 50% of what number?

Look, if iPhone sales are down, then that’s just how it is, but I’d really like to know who’s leaking all this information. Why is it that other companies can keep this information a secret but not Apple? Does anyone know how well the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note are selling? Is Samsung having the same smartphone sales problems as Apple? I haven’t heard anything being said about it.

Anyway, it all comes back to how Apple is being run as a company. I believe they need to find some other source of revenue other than iPhones. If iPhones are the only product Apple can depend upon for revenue then there certainly seems to be a major problem.
- wade
  
  Thursday, October 19, 2017 - 8:22 pm · Reply
  
  Apple is developing other sources of revenue: look at services, which is soaring. Apple Watch is growing rapidly.
  
  But right now there is no other market quite like those for cellphones/smartphones. The smartphone has become the necessary tool for our time, has an upgrade cycle every 1 to 2 years for most, and has carrier partners willing to finance these upgrade cycles at zero percent interest.
Kolache

Thursday, October 19, 2017 - 9:33 pm · Reply

The world is ending and Tim Cook is responsible.
- MN
  
  Friday, October 20, 2017 - 4:23 am · Reply
  
  You may be closer to the truth than you know.
  
  Cook yields more power than any elected official. He has picked money outnof everyone’s pockets in order to amass the largest treasury ever seen in the history of the world. Reality is that King Cook is hoarding the resources that could be better deployed making the world a better place instead of sitting in an overseas tax haven unused.
  
  Cook could, for example, take some of his money cache to hire Mac engineers to improve the pathetic overpriced underperforming products currently on sale at Apple fashion boutiques.
Erkadius

Friday, October 20, 2017 - 10:12 am · Reply

I bought iPhone 8+/256 last month because it is the greatest of traditional iPhones. I decided to skip upgrading from iPhone 7+/256 to iPhone X because to me the X stands for experimental next generation smartphone. I’ll be waiting for the iPhone X2.