Apple’s market valuation falls below $2 trillion as shares plummet 3% on first day of 2023 trading

Apple’s market shares fell more than 3 percent in trading on Tuesday, pushing the tech giant’s valuation below $2 trillion for the first time since last spring.

Shares of the iPhone maker fell 3.74 percent, leaving the company worth $130.20 and an overall valuation of $1.99 trillion. The drop left the company at a 12-month low on the first day of trading in 2023.

Tuesday’s decline came after a difficult holiday season for Apple, which saw shipments bogged down by COVID restrictions at its main iPhone-making factory in China.

The valuation has also declined amid increasing declines in general consumer confidence, which is said to worry investors as the US economy.

Pictured: Apple CEO Tim Cook. The company’s valuation fell below $2 trillion for the first time since last May.

Although Apple released the iPhone 14 in September, shipments of the latest phone were down 22 percent from initial projections in the fourth quarter, according to TrendForce.

In response to the slowdown caused by the recent surge in COVID infections in China, Apple’s main manufacturing country, the company has been trying to cut costs by producing its products with fewer components, according to nikkei.

Apple first crossed the $2 trillion valuation mark in August 2020 amid the pandemic, when sales of iPhones and laptops soared as customers stocked up for remote work and education.

A year ago today, Apple was worth around $3 trillion.

The tech giant is just the latest company to lose its $2 trillion valuation: Microsoft also fell below the mark earlier this year.

Apple valuation in the last month

Workers (pictured in August) line up to get tested for COVID-19 at the Foxconn factory in Wuhan, in China’s central Hubei province. Workers at the Zhengzhou iPhone plant have been under COVID-19 restrictions for weeks and have taken to the streets over their working conditions.

COVID-19 restriction protests (pictured) have erupted recently, in a rare show of government resistance in the communist country.

A protest broke out near the Apple factory and the government ordered a five-day quarantine

The downturn comes after reports that Apple plans to move some of its production out of China after violent government protests delayed the company’s production, as Chief Executive Tim Cook eyes Vietnam and India as new hubs.

Apple has accelerated plans to leave Zhengzhou, China, where iPhone City is located, in recent weeks, a source told the Wall Street Journal.

COVID-19 protests and pay disputes have erupted in the city, which employs up to 300,000 workers, leaving Apple’s busiest time of the year in shambles with production and delivery delays.

Consumers are facing the longest wait times in the iPhone’s 15-year history, with estimated shipping dates after Christmas, the WSJ said. Furthermore, Apple’s Q4 productions are about 10 million less than expected, with the iPhone Pro and Pro Max being the most affected.

In November, the company issued a notice that iPhone backups could be made due to health restrictions in Zhengzhou. It is now looking to India and Vietnam to reduce its reliance on Taiwan-based assemblers led by Foxconn Technology Group.

Internal claim: Apple may be developing a new, cheaper version of its wireless headphones that will help it keep up with competitors, industry sources suggest. The tech giant is rumored to be working on a product called ‘AirPods Lite’. In the image, Apple’s AirPods Pro 2.

To combat its rocky financial start to 2023, Apple could be developing a new, cheaper version of its wireless headphones that will help it keep up with competitors, industry sources suggest.

The tech giant has been rumored to be working on a product called ‘AirPods Lite’ amid fears that there will be a drop in demand for its third-generation AirPods in 2023.

Few details have been shared, and the company hasn’t commented on the claims, but the cheapest earbuds are expected to come in at less than $129, which is what second-generation AirPods currently cost.

The technology has proven hugely popular with Apple users, but it doesn’t come cheap, and with no indication of a date for its fourth-generation AirPods this year, there’s a gap before the company can launch a new product.