Apple iPhone Shipments In China Drop 21% In January, Goldman Sachs Remains Bullish

Apple Inc.‘s (NASDAQ:AAPL) latest shipment data from China paints a concerning picture: foreign-branded phone shipments, a strong indicator of iPhone sales, dropped 21% year-over-year in January.

That’s a sharp reversal from December's slight growth.

While the decline adds to ongoing concerns over Apple's market position in China, a closer look at the numbers suggests the worst may be behind the company.

In a note shared Monday, Goldman Sachs analyst Michael Ng highlighted the latest data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology. Overall mobile phone shipments in China fell 14% year-over-year to 27.2 million units in January, the biggest decline since September's 24% drop.

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