Apple iPhone sales plunge in China

Apple sold fewer than half a million smartphones in China in February as the coronavirus outbreak halved demand for all such devices.

Fred Katayama reports.

The coronavirus taking a big bite out of Apple in one of its core markets: China.

Apple's iPhone sales there plummeted 61% in February.

That followed travel curbs the Chinese government put in place in late January.

Residents were asked to avoid public places.

Those restrictions came just ahead of a major gift-giving holiday, the Lunar New Year festival.

And those curbs stayed largely in place through most of February.

Chinese government data showed the company sold fewer than half a million iPhones.

That drop was steeper than the nearly 55% fall in the overall market for mobile phone brands in China, according to data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology.

Android brands saw shipments decline 54%.

Last month, CEO Tim Cook had warned Wall Street that the company would not hit its initial revenue targets for the current quarter due to demand issues.

The coronavirus outbreak had forced Apple to shut its branded stores in China for at least two weeks in February.

Apple shares plunged in early trading Monday amid a steep sell-off in the markets.