TIM’S iPHONE MOAN

Chatter about next model hurt sales: CEO

Apple revealed a surprise drop in iPhone sales for its most recent quarter — a sore disappointment that Chief Executive Tim Cook partly blamed on leaks about upcoming models.

The Cupertino, Calif., tech giant sold 50.8 million iPhones in its fiscal second quarter ended April 1— down from 51.2 million a year earlier, and missing Wall Street’s forecast of 52.3 million, according to FactSet.

Apple’s stock tumbled 2.2 percent in extended trading Tuesday, despite the fact that the company’s iPhone revenue rose 1.2 percent, to $33.2 billion — a sign that Apple has had success selling pricier iPhones like the oversize Plus line.

Cook, on a conference call with analysts, griped that an endless barrage of leaks about the next iPhone — branded alternately by Apple watchers as the “iPhone 8” or the “iPhone X” — appear to have curbed consumers’ appetite for the iPhone 7.

“We are seeing a pause in purchases of the iPhone due to earlier and much more frequent reports about future iPhones,” he said.

The new models, which will mark the iPhone’s 10th anniversary, are slated for release in September or October.

Revenue from iPhones accounted for the bulk of Apple’s total sales of $52.9 billion, which represented a year-over-year increase of 5 percent but came in slightly below the $52.97 billion that Wall Street analysts were looking for.

On the bright side, earnings per share of $2.10 beat the $2.02 expected by analysts — a 10.5-percent gain from a year ago, albeit on 5.2 percent fewer shares.

Cook noted that revenue growth had accelerated from the previous quarter and cited “great customer response to both models of the new iPhone 7.”

Nevertheless, Apple’s current quarter revenue forecast of $43.5 billion to $45.5 billion fell slightly short of the Street’s $45.6 billion consensus.

In all, Apple ended the quarter with $257 billion cash on its balance sheet, with 93 percent of that total residing overseas to avoid US corporate taxes.

Apple’s second-largest product category, Mac computers, increased sales by 14.4 percent, to $5.84 billion. Units sold rose 4.1 percent, to 4.2 million.

Sales of iPads fell 11.9 percent, to $3.89 billion, while the 8.9 million units sold represented a 13-percent decline from the year-earlier quarter. Yet the product still managed to beat sales expectations of 8.6 million units.

Apple’s services category, which includes the iPhone’s app store and Apple Music, contributed $7 billion to the corporate coffers — an 18 percent increase — to reinforce its position as the company’s second-most important category.

In terms of geography, Apple’s revenue from the Americas and Europe was up in the double digits. Revenue from Greater China, however, plummeted 14 percent.

Cook blamed a 5-percent currency devaluation for some of China’s weakness, and insisted Apple still had great hopes for the world’s most populous country.

He also noted that seven of Apple’s Top 10 retail outlets in terms of traffic are located there.