Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares are trading lower Thursday following reports indicating the tech giant is offering discounts on several iPhone models in China.
What Happened: Apple is running a four-day promotional period, discounting iPhone 16 models in China by up to 500 yuan ($68.50) from Jan. 4 to Jan. 7, according to Reuters.
The report indicates that the discounts apply to multiple iPhone models and are available for customers using specific payment methods like WeChat Pay and Alipay.
The iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max models will be discounted by 500 yuan, while the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus models will be discounted by 400 yuan. Apple will also offer discounts of 200 to 300 yuan on older iPhone models and other device categories.
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Apple is reportedly battling market share declines as local competition intensifies in China, which is the world's biggest smartphone market.
Chinese tech giant Huawei is one of the companies taking share from Apple in the region since it launched a premium challenger in August 2023. Huawei also reportedly slashed prices on phones and other high-end tech devices by as much as 3,000 yuan this past weekend.
Apple's China sales fell 0.3% year-over-year in the third quarter, while Huawei sales jumped 42%, the report states, citing research firm IDC.
UBS analysts lowered their iPhone sales outlook for December on Thursday due to declining market share in China. The firm maintained a Neutral rating and price target of $236 after cutting revenue estimates for the quarter by about 2%.
The selloff in Apple shares on Thursday may also be partly due to profit taking given that the stock rallied roughly 35% to all-time highs in 2024. Some investors may have been waiting until January to take profits for tax purposes.
AAPL Price Action: Apple shares were down 3.13% at $242.55 at the time of publication Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro.
Photo: courtesy of Apple.