Apple set for big sales decline as investors await AI in iPhones

By Yuvraj Malik

(Reuters) - Apple's plan to add generative AI to its iPhones and revive sagging sales in the crucial Chinese market will be in focus on Thursday, when the tech giant is expected to report its biggest quarterly revenue decline in more than a year.

Long considered a must-own stock on Wall Street, Apple shares have underperformed other Big Tech companies in recent months, falling more than 10% year to date as fears mount about its slow roll out of AI services and as a resurgent Huawei takes market share in China.

Analysts on average see iPhone sales, which account for about half of Apple's revenue, falling 10.4% in the first three months of 2024, according to LSEG. That drop would be the steepest in more than three years.

Analysts estimate Apple's total revenue declined 5% in its second quarter, which included January through March. That would be Apple's biggest revenue decline since the December-quarter of 2022, when revenue fell 5.5%.