Apple stock pulled down by weak iPhone sales, China

Apple Inc’s announcement Thursday that iPhone sales were weaker than expected sent shares down 5.9% even as the tech company’s revenue and profit did better than Wall Street expected thanks to booming Mac and AirPods sales.

Investors expected lower revenue from the Cupertino, California company’s bestselling product after delays left loyal fans clasping wallets shut while waiting weeks longer than usual to upgrade. But the hold-back was even worse than analyst had expected, with iPhone sales dropping 20.7% to $26.4 billion.

Despite those delays, Apple has mostly beaten sales expectations this year and released a slew of new products and services that its customers have embraced while largely homebound during the pandemic.