Apple (AAPL) stock dropped 4% on Thursday, marking its worst day since August 5, following reports of weak iPhone sales in China. AAPL stock has declined by more than 9% over the past month and is nearly 12% below its December peak, making it the worst-performing of the seven largest technology stocks in 2025 so far.
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AAPL’s iPhone Sales Are Declining in China
The dip follows a Canalys report, stating that Apple had slipped to third place in smartphone sales in China for 2024, behind local brands Vivo and Huawei. The tech giant’s annual shipments to China declined 17% year-over-year, with the company shipping 15% of the 284 million phones sold last year.
Furthermore, a CNBC report cited Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, stating that he expects a 6% decline in iPhone shipments for the first half of 2025, primarily in the second quarter. Kuo also noted that Apple’s artificial intelligence system, Apple Intelligence, which is not yet available in China, is not helping to drive iPhone demand.
Meanwhile, Apple is set to report its December quarter results on January 30.
AAPL Has Disabled Apple Intelligence News Summaries
In a separate move, the company has temporarily disabled Apple Intelligence summaries for users of news apps in its beta software, signalling challenges in rolling out its AI technology. This decision comes after the BBC reported that Apple’s AI system had delivered inaccurate facts in the news notifications. However, the pause only affects users using AAPL’s beta software, not those on the main operating systems.
The pause in Apple Intelligence’s key feature highlights the difficulties Apple faces in advancing its AI, which has faced scrutiny from users on social media. Apple stated that it is working on software improvements to address the issues, though it did not specify when the update will be available.
Is Apple a Buy, Hold, or Sell?
Analysts remain cautiously optimistic about AAPL stock, with a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on 19 Buys, seven Holds, and three Sells. Over the past year, AAPL has surged by more than 20%, and the average AAPL price target of $244.77 implies an upside potential of 7.2% from current levels.
