China Wasn't the Only Weak Spot in Apple's Holiday Quarter

When Apple revised its revenue guidance for the holiday quarter downwards earlier this month, the company’s CEO attributed “most of our revenue shortfall and over 100 percent of our year-over-year worldwide revenue decline” to lackluster sales across Greater China. And while yesterday’s results proved that to be mathematically true – without the negative impact from China, Apple’s revenue would have seen the slightest growth – the world’s second largest economy was not the company’s only weak spot, geographically speaking.

As the following chart shows, Apple also suffered sales declines in Europe and Japan in the past quarter, a fact that can mostly be traced back to weak demand for new iPhones. A combination of high prices, lower carrier subsidies and longer replacement cycles has led to a 15 percent drop in global iPhone sales, offsetting 19 percent growth from Apple’s other products and services.