Connect with us

Published

on

Appleon Thursday gave a sales forecast for the holiday quarter that missed Wall Street expectations, hurt by weak demand for iPads and wearables, sending its shares down 3.5% in after-hours trading.

Chief ExecutiveTimCookinsisted that the company’s new iPhone 15 models were doing well in China, citing a record September quarter for iPhones in the region and seeking to ease Wall Street worries that Apple was losing market share to a resurgent Huawei and other local smartphone sellers.

On a conference call with analysts, Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri said sales for the current quarter, when Apple typically has its biggest sales of new iPhone models, will be similar to the previous year. Wall Street was expecting a forecast for sales to rise 4.97% to $122.98 billion.

Apple shares, which have risen 37% so far this year, dropped 3.5% after-hours when the company gave the forecast.

Earlier on Thursday, Apple reported quarterly sales and profit beat Wall Street expectations, helped by an uptick in iPhone sales and a $1 billion boost to services revenue that offset large drops in Mac and iPad sales.

But revenue from China dipped 2.5% and Cook said the company’s new high-end handset models – the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max devices – are facing supply constraints.

The Cupertino, California, company has navigated a global smartphone slump better than many of its rivals but faces an uneven economic recovery in China, a key market for Apple.

“While we believe investors should breathe a sigh of relief because sales and profits both exceeded expectations, the upside was small and we were concerned to see weak sales from China,” DA Davidson analyst Tom Forte said.

Apple said sales for the fiscal fourth quarter ended Sept. 30 fell roughly 1% to $89.50 billion but beat analyst estimates of $89.28 billion, according to LSEG data. Net income rose about 11%. Profit per share of $1.46 beat analyst expectations of $1.39 per share, according to LSEG.

Apple is facing tougher competition in the smartphone market this year as Huawei TechnologiesLreturns to the field with new phones powered by Chinese-made chips after being all but shut out of the market for several years by US government trade curbs.

Apple’s sales in China fell to $15.08 billion from $15.47 billion in the fourth quarter a year ago. Apple’s Cook said that after accounting for foreign exchange rates, Apple’s business in China grew year-over-year, driven by iPhone sales and services revenue.

“In mainland China, we set a quarterly record for the September quarter for iPhone,” Cook told Reuters. “We had four out of the top five best-selling smartphones in urban China.”

Cook said Apple was “working hard to manufacture more” iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max devices. “We do believe that later this quarter, we’ll reach a supply-demand balance,” he said.

Several global trends are also playing in Apple’s favor, with forecasters predicting that the smartphone market has bottomed out and may start to recover in 2024.

In the longer term, investors are eying how Apple responds to the boom in generative artificial intelligence in which systems can follow prompts in human-like ways – an area that has attracted billions in spending by Microsoftand Alphabet’sGoogle. Apple has said it is working on the technology and views it as a way to improve a wide range of products.

For now, the iPhone remains Apple’s biggest seller. Sales of the device were $43.81 billion in the fourth quarter, in line with analyst expectations of $43.81 billion, according to LSEG data.

The personal computer market is also expected to fare better in the coming year. Earlier this week,Apple rolled outnew Mac machines.

Still, Mac sales slumped by a third to $7.61 billion and iPad sales declined 10% to $6.44 billion, compared with expectations of $8.63 billion and $6.07 billion, respectively.

Sales in Apple’s wearables segment, which includes the Apple Watch and AirPods, fell 3% to $9.32 billion, short of estimates of $9.43 billion, according to LSEG data.

Apple has faced several quarters of declining sales of Macs and iPads, and the fourth quarter continued that trend.

Sales in Apple’s services segment, which includes Apple TV+ and which recently closed a deal with global soccer superstar Lionel Messi, rose 16% to $22.31 billion, compared with analyst estimates of $21.35 billion.

Continue Reading

Sports

2025 World Series: Live updates and analysis from Game 5

Published

on

By

2025 World Series: Live updates and analysis from Game 5

All the Toronto Blue Jays had to do after losing an 18-inning epic in Game 3 of the 2025 World Series was bounce back quickly — and beat starting pitcher/DH Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 4.

Well, they did just that — and the Fall Classic is tied at 2-2. With the series sure to head back to Toronto, what will happen in the final game in L.A.? Game 5’s winner will be one victory from a ring; the loser will be one loss from heartbreak.

Follow all the action — from live analysis during the game to our postgame takeaways — right here.

Key links: World Series schedule, results

Live analysis

Gamecast: Follow the action pitch-by-pitch here

Continue Reading

Sports

Sources: Twins pick Shelton to be next manager

Published

on

By

Sources: Twins pick Shelton to be next manager

The Minnesota Twins are hiring former Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton to be the team’s new manager, sources confirmed to ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Wednesday.

Shelton, who was fired on May 8 as the Pirates quickly slipped into last place in the National League Central, will replace Rocco Baldelli, who was fired by Minnesota on Sept. 29.

The 55-year-old Shelton was the bench coach for the Twins in 2018 and 2019 under two different managers, Paul Molitor and Baldelli.

New York Yankees hitting coach James Rowson, who held that role for the Twins under both Molitor and Baldelli before leaving to become bench coach of the Miami Marlins in 2020, was also one of the finalists. Former Seattle Mariners manager Scott Servais and current Chicago Cubs bench coach Ryan Flaherty reportedly were in the mix, too.

The Twins are one of nine MLB teams who have changed managers this year.

Shelton was named manager of the Pirates in November 2019 as part of a franchise-wide reset by owner Bob Nutting. It was his first major league managing job after serving as a coach in various capacities in Tampa Bay, Toronto and Minnesota, and he went 306-440 in his five-plus seasons with Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh won less than 40% of its games in Shelton’s first three seasons before taking a step forward in 2023 when it won 76 games. Paul Skenes‘ arrival in 2024 gave the franchise another jolt, and the Pirates were in playoff contention until an August swoon. In 2025, the Pirates’ offense under Shelton languished near the bottom of the NL.

The Twins, who were expected to contend for the AL Central title this season, faltered in June and became active at the trade deadline, sending away 10 players while cutting $26 million from the payroll. The team went 23-43 after the All-Star break to finish fourth in the division with a 70-92 mark.

It was the fourth-worst record in the major leagues and their worst mark since 2016.

Attendance swooned at Target Field this season, with the Twins finishing with an 81-home game total of a little more than 1.7 million tickets sold, their lowest number in a non-pandemic season since 2000, when they played at the Metrodome and finished 69-93.

Fans mostly have directed their disdain toward ownership, with deep frustration over cost cutting that came after the 2023 breakthrough Baldelli led with the end of a record 18-game postseason losing streak and the club’s first win of a playoff series in 21 years.

Executive chair Joe Pohlad and his family members put the franchise up for sale in 2024, but decided in August to keep control and bring on two new investment groups for an infusion of cash to help pay down debt.

The New York Post first reported news on Shelton’s hiring by the Twins.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Continue Reading

Sports

Jays’ Springer feeling better, won’t start Game 5

Published

on

By

Jays' Springer feeling better, won't start Game 5

LOS ANGELES — Blue Jays designated hitter George Springer won’t start Game 5 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday, but Toronto manager John Schneider indicated Springer could be available off the bench.

Springer, who also missed Game 4 after leaving Game 3 early with right side discomfort, did some hitting in the batting cage and some running Wednesday.

“George is feeling better,” Schneider said Wednesday afternoon. “I think better than he expected to feel, better than we expected him to feel, which is saying a lot.”

Bo Bichette will serve as the team’s DH in place of Springer in Game 5 while Isiah Kiner-Falefa will start at second base.

The 36-year-old Springer left Monday’s contest after taking an awkward swing in the seventh inning of the Dodgers’ eventual 18-inning victory. He is 3-for-11 with two runs scored in the World Series, which is tied 2-2.

He has been a key member of the Blue Jays’ postseason run but is likely to watch at least one more game before the Series takes a day off Thursday. With the extra time to heal, it means Springer could be ready for Friday’s Game 6 in Toronto.

“He’s had an unbelievable year, and I think that he has done a phenomenal job of kind of setting the tone for us, not just at the plate but in the clubhouse and keeping tabs on guys,” Schneider said. “It’s been fun to watch him. It’s been really fun after a tough year last year for him and us.”

Continue Reading

Trending