In a report Thursday, UBS analysts said iPhone sales in April were down year-on-year, with global sales falling about 2%.
The tech giant is “not out of the woods yet,” UBS said.
Analysts explain that the decline underscores continued pressure in the two largest smartphone markets, the US and China, according to an analysis of April smartphone sales data from Counterpoint Research.
UBS said global iPhone sales were estimated at 14.8 million units in April 2024, up from 15.1 million units in April 2023. This made this the lowest month of April since April 2020, during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
iPhone sales saw significant declines of nearly 20% in China, 4% in the US and 8% in India, although Europe saw a 22.5% increase due to a favorable comparison base.
Additionally, the bank says the decline in iPhone market share was also notable, with global share falling 130 basis points year-on-year to about 16%, marking the fourth consecutive month of share loss.
In China, iPhone market share fell 390 basis points to 14.5%, while Huawei’s share rose 450 basis points. In the US, iPhone’s share fell 110 basis points to about 49%, while Samsung’s (KS:) share rose 560 basis points. Meanwhile, iPhone share in Europe rose slightly by 30 basis points to 23.4%, while in India it fell 30 basis points to around 5%.
UBS is keeping its price target for Apple at $190 (NASDAQ:), reflecting what analysts say is a “challenging growth backdrop, higher rates and an uncertain AI strategy.”