Apple's Q2 - The rhythm that has become iPhone

On May 2, Apple released their Q2 2017 results.   On heels of a huge Q1 where Apple sold over 78M iPhones, Q2 came in at 50.7M.  

 When compared to 2016 - total iPhone sales were down slightly (-1%) - so while sales in the Americas and Europe both posted double digit gains - they were offset by losses in China - where sales fell 14% when compared to 2016.

 iPad sales continued to drop with a 13% decline over Q2 2016.  Macs saw a 4% gain. Apple's services segment continues to rise - with an 18% gain over 2016.  

 But this appears to be the rhythm of Apple -  a huge Q1 that is reflective of the new iPhone model and holiday selling season, then a pretty dramatic drop off in Q2 thru Q4 as folks defer purchases in the anticipation of the new model.

 And while there is a lot of press and anticipation over the 10th Anniversary iPhone 8 - I kind of the expect the same rhythm.  We'll probably see volume drop in Q3 and Q4 and then a huge Q1 again.

 With that said, Apple continues to struggle in the world's largest market - China and as I mentioned in my post regarding Q1 Worldwide Smartphone sales - the Chinese based vendors Huawei, vivo and Oppo and seeing significant year over years sales growths - often near 30%.  

 If they continue that pace and Apple continues to see declines - they will soon overtake Apple in the worldwide rankings.

 And so while Apple did experience a 5% year over year gain in total revenue to 52.9B over 2016's 50.5B - their continued struggles in China may come back to haunt them.  

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