iPhone News And Rumors: Apple CEO Hits Back At Alleged Slow Consumer-Spending On Smartphones In China

By Jenn Loro - 04 May '16 12:03PM
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Tim Cook, the CEO who leads Apple's business empire, hits back at naysayers who clearly have not grasped the real picture behind the company's financial performance.

Days after released its sales report indicating a drop in iPhone sales, especially in the lucrative Chinese market, Cook recently appeared in a media interview to convince investors the good days aren't over as company stocks plummeted by more than 10%.

"We just had an incredible quarter by absolute standards, $50 billion plus in revenues, $10 billion in profits. To put that in perspective, the $10 billion is more than any other company makes. So it was a pretty good quarter but not up to the Street's expectations clearly," said Cook as quoted by CNBC in an interview with the station.

"No one else is earning anywhere near this. Last year, we earned $53 billion in profits. And I think the No. 2 company was $24 [billion]. We are doing pretty good," the Apple chief further noted.

His media appearance comes at a time when iPhone shipments to China fell by 16% and revenue from the Chinese market dropped by as much as 26%. Speculations over Apple's stocks heightened as billionaire investor Carl Icahn recently talked about selling off his Apple stake. The investor's statement created a sensation over fears that the Chinese government is making it difficult for China to sell well in the Chinese market.

Despite those growing concerns over the company's long-term profitability in the foreseeable future, Cook firmly said that his faith in Apple's ability to draw in Chinese consumers from the country's growing middle class remains intact.

"I could not be more optimistic about China," Cook said as quoted by CNET. "There has never been anything like it in the history of the world. If you look at it on a two-year basis, Apple grew 70 percent in China. It's hard-pressed to say those aren't good results."

Although he admitted that current sales in China did reach their expectations, he attributed that the company's recent dismal sales performance China's macroeconomic woes.

Nevertheless, he remained highly optimistic as the rate of consumers switching from Android to Apple is at 40% strong in the last six months or so as per USA Today report.

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