Apple stock, suppliers fall after iPhone lens maker reports sales drop

People stand in an Apple store in Manhattan.Spencer Platt/Getty Images

• Apple suppliers were under pressure early Thursday after the Taiwanese lens maker Largan Precision reported a 25% drop in November revenue versus a year ago.
• Largan Precision makes lenses for iPhones and other smartphones.
• Apple shares fell more than 2% in premarket trading.

Apple suppliers took a beating Thursday after the Taiwanese iPhone lens maker Largan Precision reported a big decline in sales, becoming the latest supplier to fall under pressure as fears of a slowdown in the smartphone market take hold.

Largan Precision shares tumbled nearly 10% in premarket trading after the company reported a 29% drop in November revenue compared to the same month last year.

The move had ripple effects for other Apple suppliers. Lumentum, which last month slashed its own revenue and profit forecasts, shed 6% while semiconductor maker Micron fell 3%. Texas Instruments and Intel both slid 2%.

Meanwhile, Apple fell more than 2% ahead of the opening bell as international markets sold off following the arrest of the Chinese tech giant Huawei’s chief financial officer, underscoring US-China trade tensions.

Thursday’s selling followed Apple’s decline on Tuesday, when it fell more than 4% after HSBC analysts downgraded the stock in an in-depth report and supplier Cirrus Logic cut its own revenue forecast due to “recent weaknesses in the smartphone market.”

Some Wall Street analysts have tempered their own expectations for Apple’s growth. Goldman Sachs slashed its price target on the stock three times in November.

Apple was up 0.4% this year, barely outperforming the S&P 500 in the same time. 

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