Apple reported flat revenue in its first quarter of 2016, confirming fears that the consumer tech giant — which once seemed infallible — is slowing down.
The Cupertino, Calif., company recorded $75.9 billion in revenue, marginally up from $74.6 billion in the same quarter a year earlier.
Technology analysts and some investors had feared that iPhone sales would decline, but Apple managed to avoid a plunge there. Sales of its marquee phone edged up 0.4 percent.
“Given the white knuckles … we would characterize the overall headline performance as better than feared,” said Daniel Ives, an analyst at FBR Capital Markets. But Apple still has “some more wood to chop over the coming quarters to give investors further confidence” that iPhone sales will pick up again.
In the Americas, overall revenue was down to $29.3 billion from $30.6 billion last year. Growing sales in China made up for falling U.S. sales and slow growth in Europe.
Before the earnings announcement, the company’s stock closed at $99.99, up 0.55 percent. Shares drifted down as much as 0.7 percent in after-hours trading.
Apple shares have been bruised in recent months on poor Chinese economic news and reports that iPhone suppliers are cutting back shipments because of diminished demand for the handset.
Apple needs the Chinese economy to hold up so that its emerging consumer class will continue to snap up iPhones. The tech giant plans to have 40 stores in China by the end of the year.
The earnings also underscore how much Apple relies on the iPhone. Unlike tech rivals such as Google, Facebook and Microsoft, Apple isn’t heavily invested in cloud computing, driverless cars, virtual reality or social media.
