Analysts at Jeffries Financial Group (JEF) say that Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone sales in China decreased 30% year-over-year during the first week of 2024.
In a note to clients, Jefferies said that Apple is facing growing competitive pressure from Chinese domestic rivals such as Huawei in the smartphone sector.
Jeffries adds that the decline in Apple's iPhone sales comes despite aggressive discounting of the devices within China, particularly on Chinese online marketplaces.
For example, the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max each had their prices reduced by 16% on the Chinese e-commerce platform Pinduoduo during the first week of the New Year.
Jeffries analysis says that the 30% drop in iPhone sales is an acceleration from the 3% year-over-year decline that Apple saw for all of 2023 in its third-largest market.
Jefferies said that Huawei has been taking market share from Apple within China ever since it launched its popular Mate 60 smartphone in August 2023.
During the fourth quarter of 2023, Huawei's share of the Chinese smartphone market rose by 6%, according to the analysts’ note.
Jeffries estimates that Huawei will ship about 64 million smartphones worldwide in 2024, up significantly from 35 million shipped last year.
Apple’s stock declined 3% during the first week of 2024 and currently trades at $181.18 U.S. per share. However, Apple’s stock is up 40% over the last 12 months.
