Apple projects better sales year in 2017

After stumbling in 2016, Apple is betting on a better year ahead.

The Silicon Valley tech giant is forecasting a return to growth in iPhone sales this winter, after a rare slump that dropped a wet blanket on Apple’s revenue and stock performance over the last three quarters.

The company also is set to unveil new Mac computers later this week, hoping to boost lagging interest in a set of products that are symbolically significant even if they’re less financially important to the company than the iPhone.

Reporting on its fiscal fourth quarter, which ended Sept. 24, Apple said revenue declined 9 percent to $46.8 billion, while profit fell 19 percent to $9 billion profit. Earnings amounted to $1.67 a share, compared with Wall Street estimates of $1.66 a share on revenue of $47 billion.

Apple ended its fiscal year with annual sales of $215.6 billion and profit of $45.7 billion. Most companies would be thrilled with those numbers. But some analysts warn Apple relies too heavily on a single product line, the iPhone, which contributed nearly two thirds of Apple’s revenue.

“Management hasn’t diversified the revenue stream,” said BGC Partners analyst Colin Gillis, who noted that Apple faces a host of competitors in a global smartphone market that’s seeing slower growth overall. “Counting phones is a horrible way to live and die every quarter.”