彭博报道,中国对 iPhone 的禁令很可能从政府部门扩大到国企,进而影响普通民众购买苹果产品的意愿
Apple stock historically performs well ahead of a new iPhone event. But it's not every year that China torpedoes the pre-launch hype.
Ahead of the expected iPhone 15 launch next week, America's most valuable company is feeling the heat from the tit- for-tat tech trade war between the U.S. and China that's hurting plenty of other firms, too.
Beijing ordered government officials not to use Apple's iPhones, or other foreign-branded devices, for work, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. The restrictions could also be extended to include state-owned companies, Bloomberg reported Thursday.
It's still a relatively small group, and would only be an at-work ban, but it's not hard to imagine consumers feeling under pressure to follow their government's lead.
As if by magic, Chinese consumers have a ready-made alternative should they want to jump ship. Smartphone rival Huawei released its new high-speed phone last week, and it's been in high demand.
The partial ban and the Huawei launch combine to ramp up the risks for Apple for China--a key market which has accounted for about 18% of Apple's revenue over the past five years. Investors are realizing the significance. The tech giant's shares tumbled 3.6% Wednesday, and could be set for another day of losses.
The stock has climbed an average of 8% in the period between June quarter earnings and the September iPhone announcement since 2016, Citi analysts noted last month. It needs a miracle for history to repeat itself this year--the shares are now largely flat since the day after earnings, and look set to move lower.
Any further extensions to China's ban could impact the stock long after next week's launch.