Drastic slump in sales at Apple? Trump decision could cost US corporation billions of dollars

In view of a decision by US President Donald Trump, Apple threatens a drastic drop in sales of the iPhone. The well-known analyst Ming-Chi Kuo writes in a recent study.

• The iPhone from Apple is by far the most important revenue-bringer of the Group.
• Now the group could suffer massively from a decision by US President Donald Trump .
• Billions of dollars in sales are at stake for Apple .

Update August 11, 10:35 a.m.: Apple * threatens a blatant drop in sales due to US President Donald Trump * 's ban on the Chinese app WeChat , writes the well-known analyst Min-Chi Kuo from TF International Securities in a recent study. Should Apple ban the WeChat app, which is particularly popular in China, from the AppStore, in the worst case scenario, iPhone * sales worldwide could collapse by 25 to 30 percent, Kuo warned investors on Monday.

To justify this, Kuo referred to the importance of WeChat for many Chinese. The app is "very critical for Chinese users because it bundles functions such as communication, payment, e-commerce or news" on a central platform. The app has 1.2 billion active users worldwide, most of them in China .

One of China's oldest stores for foreigners, Guangzhou Friendship Store, is finding new life in #livestreaming in the time of #COVID. From luxury watches to everyday items, 133 livestreaming sessions on its #WeChat #MiniProgram drove sales of US $ 5.7 mln. https://t.co/85U6ThFIRe pic.twitter.com/llBe1UYofM

Apple: Worst-case scenario would shake iPhone manufacturers

In the past fiscal year, Apple made $ 142.4 billion in sales worldwide with the iPhone alone. This corresponds to around half of group sales. If the Californian company should actually have to delete WeChat from the App Store, according to it, sales of around 36 to 43 billion dollars would be at risk. In addition, there would be losses in sales for other popular Apple products such as the AirPods, iPads or the Apple Watch *, writes Kuo.

On the other hand , Apple would get off much more lightly if the company only removed WeChat from the US app store. Then the sales figures for the iPhone could slide by three to six percent. In view of the billions in revenue that the company makes with its smartphones, that would still correspond to a drop in sales of between four and eight billion dollars.

Kuo is considered one of the best Apple experts in the world. In recent years, the analyst had always been right with predictions about future Apple products.

Apple: Group must implement US President Donald Trump's decree - iPhone sales at risk

With the ban, Apple could implement a decree from US President Donald Trump . The order, signed on Thursday (August 6), prohibits all US companies from doing business with the social media app WeChat or its owner from September 20. WeChat is backed by the billion-dollar Chinese company Tencent .

In another ruling, Trump had also banned the TikTok video app from the Chinese company Bytedance, which was popular with young people . This ban will also come into force on September 20th. In support of the move, the White House stated that the spread of Chinese communication apps threatened "national security, foreign policy and the economy of the United States."

TikTok has recently hit the headlines for its generous sharing of user data. The company also deleted videos that did not meet Chinese censorship requirements.

Apple could suffer as Washington-Beijing relations deteriorate

Relations between Washington and Beijing have deteriorated rapidly over the past few months. China has been trying to expand its influence worldwide for years. US President Donald Trump , however, is proceeding with increasing severity.

Apple: Mother and son steal over 1000 brand new iPhones

Update August 6, 2:05 p.m. - Apple's iPhone is a success that is rarely seen - if at all - in the US tech industry, which is spoiled by mega successes. But the Apple mobile phone, which revolutionized an entire industry with its touch screen and user interface, is in great demand. This also attracts fraudsters.

In Switzerland , a mother and her son have now been convicted of ripping off their iPhones. The duo duped Apple with a bold trick .

The high-end 27-inch iMac is more 'pro' than the iMac Pro ishttps: //t.co/iFuFmSlmTE pic.twitter.com/0o4yewR2er

And it went like this: The 34-year-old Chinese regularly went to an Apple store or the Swiss chain Data Quest with an alleged defective iPhone . There the man had the iPhone replaced with a brand new model.

He made use of the Apple Insurance AppleCare . Apple buyers who are offered the service for a fee when purchasing in a store or on the website acquire the right to exchange their device on site for a one-off fee in the event of damage. The insurance also applies to water damage. In Switzerland , the corresponding exchange with AppleCare costs 99 francs.

iPhone: The allegedly defective device was an extremely well-made fake

However, the man had not taken out any Applecare insurance, but was using third-party Applecare data. And the allegedly defective iPhone was not real, but an extremely well-made fake - without a processor, memory or other inner workings.

In order to get away with the trick and get the employee to replace it, the fraudster simply stated that he had water damage. In the event of water damage, however, iPhones do not have to be unscrewed. A moisture indicator in the connections indicates the damage. So the forgery remained undetected for a long time.

The man had captured a total of 1000 iPhones with his brazen scam in this way and sent them to his backers in Hong Kong . They resold the real iPhones and diligently delivered fake iPhones. According to Apple, the damage was over a million francs.

iPhone rip-off: Swiss customs officers find out about the fraudsters

The rip-off scheme was only exposed because Swiss customs officers in Basel seized two packages with 50 fake iPhones and investigated the case.  

Now the district court in Baden in the canton of Aargau has sentenced the man to a prison sentence of three and a half years for commercial fraud and trademark infringement. His 56-year-old mother got away with a suspended sentence of twelve months.

iPhone 12: Apple is planning a surprise - fans can be twice as happy

First report August 4th, 11.46 a.m . : - Munich - Apple wants to bring the latest generation of the iPhone onto the market in two waves, writes the Taiwanese industry portal DigiTimes, citing suppliers. According to the report, the first two iPhone * models with 6.1-inch displays will hit the market. In the second message, the versions with the new screen sizes in the handy 5.4-inch format and the XXL version with 6.7-inch display are planned.

According to DigiTimes, Apple may launch the new iPhone models in two stages, with the two 6.1 ”models launching first in October. pic.twitter.com/g4NqyLX3dN

The latest iPhone generation will not come this year as usual in September in the trade, but only "a few weeks later", had Apple -Finanzchef Luca Maestri announced on Thursday evening when presenting the figures for the third quarter of the fiscal year. Observers expect that Apple will bring the new versions of the iPhone on the market from October.  

According to Bloomberg, Apple also wants to support super-fast 5G data standard for the first time with the iPhone 12

According to a report by the Bloomberg news agency, Apple also wants to support the super-fast 5G data standard from this year. The design will also be revised and, with its rounded corners, borrow from the iPhone 5 and the current version of the iPad, writes Bloomberg.

Apple now the most valuable corporation in the world

First report from August 3rd, 2020 : Based on the price on Monday, Apple * is now worth $ 1.877 trillion on the stock exchange. Oil giant Saudi Aramco brings it to $ 1.76 trillion. Saudi Aramco only went public last December.

# Apple's latest stock valuation means Warren Buffett's stock holdings are now worth over $ 100 billion, or three times what he originally paid for them, starting in 2016. https://t.co/15tBu2oF9F pic.twitter.com/c5RKYWvoJm

Apple recently put its shareholders in high spirits with a steep price increase. In the current year, the Apple share has already increased by almost 50 percent. On Friday alone, the paper rose by ten percent. This corresponds to an increase in value of the equivalent of 146.6 billion euros - in a single day. For comparison: In the Dax , the two index heavyweights Allianz and Deutsche Telekom jointly have a market value of around 142.1 billion euros. And even more impressive: the market value of all Dax companies combined is currently 1.131 trillion. The iPhone manufacturerbrings the equivalent of a good 400 billion euros more on the scales.

Video: 5 crazy facts about the global Apple

Apple: Investors celebrate strong quarterly results and planned share split

The trigger for the recent price increase in Apple shares on Friday were surprisingly strong quarterly figures for the company from Cupertino, California. In the third quarter of its fiscal year, the group had improved its sales by eleven percent to $ 59.7 billion. The profit climbed even by 18 percent to 2.58 dollars per share. Analysts, on the other hand , had given Apple $ 52.2 billion in sales and earnings of $ 2.04 per share.

The announcement of a share split at Apple caused extra euphoria . Investors are to receive three new Apple shares per share on August 24th. This makes the paper look cheaper. That could provide further tailwind on the stock market.

The next big Apple hype is likely to be a little longer in coming this time than usual. Instead of the usual end of September, the new iPhone generation will be "a few weeks later," said Apple CFO Luca de Maestri on Thursday. * Merkur.de is an offer from the Ippen Digital Network.