Apple (AAPL, Financial)'s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) began Monday, June 13 in San Francisco. The WWDC is an annual event held by Apple to showcase its software and technologies for developers. The week-long event allows developers to attend seminars and labs with Apple’s engineers, networking and building relationships for new product innovation.
In a news clip on Monday, CNBC provided insight on the five things investors will likely see at the WWDC from Apple.
Apple has been slightly struggling recently after a digression in sales was reported in its most recent second quarter. The company reported revenue of $50.6 billion, down 12.8% from the comparable quarter. Earnings per share were $1.90, down 18%.
In product segment sales for the second quarter, revenue was down considerably across the firm’s three major product lines including the iPhone, iPad and Mac.
For the first six months of the year, a similar trend was also reported.
Overall, concerns are increasing for Apple’s product sales in 2016. While it continues to add significant innovation to its products through new features and development applications, the lower technology demand and specifically for personal computers is a factor that has Apple’s sales trending lower.
The iPhone 7 is scheduled for release in the fall and will most likely be in September just before the end of the quarter. While the iPhone 7 will be an annual release, the company has reported that it will not be doing a full refresh of the iPhone until 2017. One factor could be the decline in sales, 2017 will also be the 10-year anniversary of the iPhone.
While the iPhone 7 will not include a full refresh, sales are still expected to be high with the company targeting output of 72 million to 78 million units of the new iPhone 7 by the end of 2016. Some new features customers can expect from the iPhone 7 include a thinner phone with wireless headphones and a wireless charger. Standard enhancements are also expected such as improved screen resolution and battery life.
Overall, while Apple continues to innovate in the technology sector, the industry’s decreasing demand will likely continue to weigh on product sales and revenue. For investors, this could mean further downside losses in the quarters ahead as Apple focuses on bigger product refreshes for 2017.
Disclosure: I do not own any shares of Apple.
