As a company that is publicly traded on the stock exchange, Apple must quarterly report to shareholders / investors and it will do so this Thursday (February 1), bringing us official figures for its first fiscal quarter of 2018 which comprises the sales period between October and December, that is, the hottest of the whole year.
On these occasions, it always discloses the total number of iPhones sold in the period, but for strategic / commercial reasons it does not divide that number by models. In this way, when we hear specific numbers about the iPhone X, for example, they are based on market research or sources at Chinese factories, typically such as that of Canalys which pointed to sales of 29 million iPhones X in the fourth quarter of 2017.
This time, however, the focus is not on sales numbers but on production goal defined by Apple for the iPhone X. According to a report yesterday by Nikkei, corroborated today by Wall Street Journal, Apple would have cut its iPhones X production target for the current quarter (January to March) in 20 million units. As for the iPhones 7 and 8 lines, it would be maintaining a target of 30 million units manufactured.
One of the reports obviously raises the possibility that the reduction has to do with "sales below expectations in the end of the year, in the United States, Europe and China". At the same time, it is natural that, after the bombing quarter that covers the Christmas period and as the initial sales of the new models stabilize, this production will even be adjusted.
But yes, there is a great possibility that sales of the iPhone X were below expectations after all, we are talking about a smartphone that starts at US $ 1,000 in the United States (I will not even remember the price of it here in Brazil, it is not worth it). No wonder we are already hearing rumors of a future cheaper model that will have much of the new features / features of the iPhone X, but with an LCD screen instead of OLED.
Obviously, any negative buzz about Apple greatly affects its actions. As of yesterday, $ AAPL has dropped more than 2%, meaning Apple is likely to answer something about these reduced production rumors at its Thursday financial conference.
