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Investing.com - Sales of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s iPhone in China during a blow-out mid-year e-commerce discounts have grown by more than 40% versus the same sales event a year ago, according to research from Jefferies.
Apple rolled out deals for the annual "618" shopping festival in China on May 18, one week earlier than the prior year. The lowered prices on its iPhone 16 and 16 Pro models were designed to take advantage of a Chinese government program that repays consumers 15% of the cost of smartphones and other devices that have a sticker price under 6,000 yuan.
The drive has also helped to bolster Apple’s market share in China -- a major market for the tech giant -- to over 20%, the Jefferies analysts said in a note to clients dated on June 8.
June-quarter revenue at Apple could be bolstered by the strong performance of the company’s "618" discounts, and help overcome a potential reversal in demand following the end of the event on June 6, the analysts predicted.
They estimated that it is "plausible that Apple could see 3%-5% iPhone revenue growth in China" during the quarter, compared to a decline in the country in the prior period ended in March.
Globally, iPhone revenues for Apple’s second quarter are tipped to be flat year-over-year.
The comments come after sales of foreign-branded mobile phones in China inched higher in April. Chinese government data released last month found that April shipments of these devices in China rose to 3.52 million units from 3.50 million a year ago.
Apple is the largest foreign smartphone maker in China, but has dealt with intensifying competition in the country from the likes of Huawei, Xiaomi (OTC:XIACF) and Vivo.
Elsewhere, markets will be keeping tabs on Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference, which is due to begin on Monday with the group’s traditional keynote address.
The event typically pulls away the veil on some of Apple’s software updates due to be made available later in the year.