It's been dubbed the Mystery of the Missing iPhones. On Jan. 22, Apple
reported that it sold 3.7 million units of its smartphones worldwide
through the end of 2007. But AT&T, the exclusive U.S. iPhone
reseller and by far the largest buyer of the devices, reported that its
subscribers activated fewer than 2 million units last year. The big
question on the minds of Apple watchers is: Where have the other 1.7
million iPhones gone?
The uncertainty has helped sink Apple's (AAPL)
stock price to $130 a share, down 34% since the beginning of the year.
That is far worse than the 13% drop for the tech-heavy Nasdaq index.
Apple shares were already under pressure over concerns about how
weakening consumer spending would affect the company's shipments of
iPod music players and notebook computers. Now the worries about iPhone
sales have entered the mix. "In the past week the stock has fallen
further because of potentially lower iPhone shipments," says Shebly
Seyrafi, an analyst at Caris & Co..
A story that recently surfaced in a Chinese newspaper claimed that
Apple's iPhone component suppliers are cutting back on production in
anticipation of lower U.S. demand.
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