No matter how great a company is, even the most successful product eventually matures and declines with the passage of time as rivals angle for a piece of the market your innovation created. A case in point is Apple’s iPhone,

In China, Apple’s second largest market, iPhone sales fell 18% in the December ending quarter, according to Bloomberg.

Phone growth in the U.S. and the rest of the world offsets softer sales in China, Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives says.

Apple's iPhone sales in China reportedly took a tumble at the end of 2024, with a considerable reduction in sales putting it in a dead heat with homegrown Xiaomi.

Apple lost the top spot in the Chinese smartphone market after a domestic brand replaced the iPhone as the country's top choice.

Apple shares are close to key support. Breaking below $217 would bring $208 into play, according to technical stock market analysts.

Doug and Lee examined Apple's decreasing stock performance, pointing out as main causes of investor unhappiness dismal iPhone 16 sales in China, AI losses, and criticism about the company's lack of recent innovation.

Apple (AAPL), and the stock has lost over 11% so far, extending its drawdown from all-time highs to over 14%. It also lost its status as the world’s largest company to Nvidia (NVDA), whose share have looked unstoppable over the last few years.