Foxconn's Profits Slide 31% as iPhone Sales Continue to Drop

Following in line with a slump in iPhone sales, Apple manufacturer Foxconn recently reported a 31 percent decline in profits in the second quarter of 2016. For the full quarter, ending in June, Foxconn was said to have amassed a net profit of 17.7 billion New Taiwan dollars, down from NT$25.7 billion a year earlier. Analysts watching the company had expected a revenue of around NT$23.9 billion for the quarter (via The Wall Street Journal).

A doom and gloom sentiment began surrounding Apple, and its overseas manufacturers, soon after the Cupertino-based company reported its first quarterly sales decline since 2003 in April. Despite a strong presence of the iPhone SE in the market, iPhone sales continued to contribute to an overall revenue decline for the company as the year continued.

foxconn_workers_2
The slump in the iPhone market now appears to be fully affecting Apple's manufacturing partners with the news out of Foxconn today, but both companies are looking forward to an uptick in sales in the future. Notably, Foxconn's acquisition of Japanese electronics maker Sharp has been officially approved by Chinese antitrust authorities, "clearing the final hurdle" in the lengthy buyout process. With the acquisition over, it should be easier for Foxconn to move forward with not only manufacturing of parts for the iPhone 7, but potentially even ramping up development of AMOLED displays and glass casings for the 2017 iPhone.

Overall, weak demand for the iPhone 7 -- due to a "lack of innovation" -- was predicted by a group of Apple suppliers in May. Multiple companies, like Japan Display and Taiwanese Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, reported fears of both huge net profit declines and a worrisome decrease in chip orders thanks to an overall declining iPhone market. Still, Apple CEO Tim Cook is optimistic about iPhone sales moving forward, saying that he sees "so many signs that are positive" as the company moves towards the iPhone 7 and iOS 10 in the fall.

Tag: Foxconn
Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

iOS 18

Apple Expected to Release iOS 18.3 Next Week With These New Features

Thursday January 23, 2025 6:41 am PST by
iOS 18.3 should be released to the public next week, following beta testing since mid-December. While the software update is a relatively minor one, it still includes a handful of new features, changes, and bug fixes for iPhones. Below, we recap everything new in iOS 18.3. Notification Summary Changes Examples of inaccurate Apple Intelligence notification summaries Apple Intelligence...
iOS 18

5 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.3

Friday January 24, 2025 1:55 am PST by
Apple is set to release iOS 18.3 next week, bringing further refinements to Apple Intelligence features, a couple of neat new capabilities to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 devices, and bug fixes. While not quite as packed with new features as Apple's preceding iOS 18 point releases, iOS 18.3 still introduces capabilities that aim to make your iPhone smarter and more intuitive. Below, we've...
Generic iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Beta Coming Soon With These New Features for Your iPhone

Friday January 24, 2025 8:16 am PST by
iOS 18.3 is expected to be widely released next week, and that means the first iOS 18.4 beta for iPhones should be just around the corner. Apple has previously implied that iOS 18.4 will be released in April, as that is when it promised to make Apple Intelligence available in even more languages. Below, we outline what to expect from iOS 18.4 so far. Apple Intelligence for Siri Siri ...
Apple Pay Walmart Feature

Walmart Stands Firm on Why It Doesn't Accept Apple Pay in the U.S.

Thursday January 23, 2025 7:32 am PST by
Walmart still does not accept Apple Pay or other NFC payments at its more than 4,600 stores across the U.S., and it stood firm on its reasoning for that today. A spokesperson for Walmart today informed MacRumors that its position on contactless payments has not changed since we last reached out about the matter in 2022. The big-box retailer said it remains focused on its own convenient...
apple tv 4k new orange

New Apple TV Launching This Year With These New Features

Wednesday January 22, 2025 6:01 pm PST by
A new Apple TV is expected to be released later this year. In this article, we recap rumored features and changes for the device. The next Apple TV will be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. He said the chip supports Wi-Fi 6E, which would be an upgrade over the current Apple TV's standard Wi-Fi 6 support. Wi-Fi 6E extends the...
iOS 18

Here Are Apple's Full Release Notes for iOS 18.3

Tuesday January 21, 2025 4:31 pm PST by
Apple provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 18.3 today, and with it comes release notes confirming what's new. While we knew about several of the features that are in the update, there are some lesser known tweaks and bug fixes. The update adds new Visual Intelligence features for iPhone 16 models, it tweaks Notification summaries on all...
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Horizontal Single Feature

Kuo: iPhone 17 Models Won't Have Smaller Dynamic Island

Friday January 24, 2025 9:09 am PST by
The upcoming iPhone 17 models that Apple plans to release this year will not feature a smaller Dynamic Island, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said today. On social media, he said that he is expecting the size of the Dynamic Island to remain "largely unchanged" across the iPhone 17 lineup. His statement is contrary to prior rumors that we've heard about planned changes for the iPhone 17 models. ...
iPhone 16 Apple Store Levels

Gurman: Apple Stores Receiving 'Merchandise' Updates Next Week

Saturday January 25, 2025 5:07 pm PST by
Apple's retail stores will be rolling out "merchandise/floor marketing updates" next week, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman did not explicitly say if the store updates are related to any upcoming product announcements, but he did mention that next week is around the time that Apple rolls out its annual Black Unity watch band for the Apple Watch. In each of the past four years, ...
apple power beats pro 2

Apple's First Product Announcement of 2025 is Imminent

Thursday January 23, 2025 2:48 pm PST by
It's also time for Apple's first product announcement of the year. Last year, Apple said it would be launching Powerbeats Pro 2 in 2025, and the wireless earbuds are expected to launch very soon. Powerbeats Pro 2 images found in iOS 18 code In his Power On newsletter last weekend, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the Powerbeats Pro 2 are "due imminently." In addition to Apple filing the...

Top Rated Comments

Mathias Denichi Avatar
110 months ago
"so many signs that are positive ('https://www.macrumors.com/2016/07/26/tim-cook-optimistic-iphone-7-sales/')"

Must be interesting to live in a world with Cook tinted glasses.
Score: 44 Votes (Like | Disagree)
S.B.G Avatar
110 months ago
I wonder if the slump isn't just about a "lack of innovation" but maybe more, or at least partly, due to market saturation. So many people have iPhone's now and other smartphones that eventually sales would slow down at some point.

This whole "doom and gloom" sentiment seems silly to me at this point. The companies are still making money hand over fist here and they're not even close to going under or anything like that.
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
enrilo Avatar
110 months ago
The prices guys, the prices.

This is the begin of the end if Apple can't compete with Nexus cheaper models. I mean, why a new buyer should pay 600+$ instead of half the price for a 5X? And the 5X is not a bad smartphone at all. It's super good indeed!
I don't want to start realizing that there's no reality in the shareholders eyes. In this world Android is becoming more tough to beat, the iPhone cannot stand only on his name and on Steve's heritage. Ok Swift, ok good design, ok Apple, wow amazing! YOLO: but the troubles are emerging now more than ever.
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JosephAW Avatar
110 months ago
I hope Apple is not blaming Foxconn or their employees for this decline, the blame falls squarely in the head of Apple's CEO, Tim Cook.
They need new leadership that's interested in innovating again instead of promoting social policies as their top priority.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ginkobiloba Avatar
110 months ago
So they'll sell it as the music lover's iPhone: stereo speakers, 'digital quality' Lightning earphones / wireless earphones and the new Music app.
Bluetooth earpods are very much the opposite of the music lover's wishes. If there is one category they will NOT be able to sell the iPhone 7 to , it's precisely the music lover. They all have invested in expensive quality headphones and they all now need to carry at all times a dangling fragile adapter.

Also, there is no such thing as a "digital quality" earphones. Our ears are analog and all digital information has to be converted into analog before reaching the earphones.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Jmausmuc Avatar
110 months ago
After reading all the rumors about the new iPhone I really don't even know how thy are going to advertise it.

No headphone jack is a huge no go for many people I have talked to, myself included.

And the rumors also point to most other things staying virtually the same.
The 6S is already blazing fast so a faster processor is unlikely to convince anyone to go out and upgrade their phone either.

wht is their strategy for the new phone? Only people with yearly free upgrade plans and expiring contracts?

What am I missing?
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)