Apple iPhone Sales 2016

Apple iPhone Sales hit 1 billion – what is the risk of trading Apple Shares?

Apple iPhone Sales hit 1 billion

Apple iPhone Sales hit 1 billion units, setting a record that pretty much any other company on the planet can only dream of!  Yet ticking such a monumental milestone brings with it a whole new series of risks for investors.
[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKSfwPe7H_8[/embedyt]

But how can success result in greater risk?

In a word, expectations!  When Apple iPhone Sales hit that 1 billion level, it reached a height that is unprecedented for a technology company, in terms of units of products sold.  Awesome!  Except investors buy or hold based on future expectations, not those in the past.

Apple iPhone Sales are slowing

And they have been for a while.  The past two quarters have seen sales slow, which is entirely understandable – at some point, there is a flexion point, where growth has to slow.  In Apple’s case, revenues more broadly have slowed and margins have also tightened.

Is there more risk now?

With the stock enjoying a nice bounce, but with a concerning glance at the future causing a reassessment from many investors, what needs to happen to give the stock a real push up?

Is a new product the answer?

Maybe, but that is high stakes, as any products coming from Apple, especially in the post Steve Jobs era, simply must be a success.  Investors expect it, the media is poised for a fail and Apple’s competitors are probably praying for a fail.  But there is another answer that is steadily growing and may be just the stable and growing channel the company needs, rather than rolling the dice on a product launch.
Services and sales from the iTunes store continue to grow, especially services, posting a 19% year on year growth.  This may well be the new cash cow, while the company prepares for the next chapter, which is life after slowing Apple iPhone sales!