Apple is set to open more than 6 percent lower Friday after the company delivered a strong earnings report but surprised investors with a major shake-up of its quarterly reporting structure and light guidance for the holiday quarter.
The stock traded as low as $207 in extended trading Thursday after the report — briefly falling below its historic $1 trillion market cap — but eased off slightly in premarket trading Friday. The stock was last seen trading around $208.
The company posted a huge jump in average selling price for its flagship iPhone, nudging the company to record revenue and earnings figures. But Apple said Thursday the company will stop reporting individual unit sales for the iPhone, iPad and Mac starting next quarter.
Top Wall Street analysts called the move a “tough pill to swallow” and said it could fuel “fears the company has something to hide.” Bank of America Merrill Lynch downgraded the stock citing increased risk.
Friday’s stock plunge is a surprising stumble for Apple, which many were expecting to weather an otherwise painful earnings season for the tech sector.
Apple was down 3 percent in October, fairing better than its FAANG stock peers. Facebook shed almost 8 percent in the same period; Alphabet lost almost 10 percent; Netflix slid 19.3 percent; and Amazon hemorrhaged 20 percent, making for its worst month since the 2008 financial crisis.
As of Thursday’s close, Apple stock had gained 30 percent in 2018 and was trading just 4 percent shy of its all-time high.
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