WASHINGTON — Apple Inc. notified investors and the press Monday that it will not meet its second-quarter financial guidance because the COVID-19 viral outbreak in China has cut production of iPhones.
The Cupertino, California-based company says all of its iPhone manufacturing facilities are outside Hubei province, and all have been reopened, but production is ramping up slowly. Apple says demand for iPhones is also down in China because Apple's retail stores are closed or operating with reduced hours.
Apple says the situation is evolving and it will provide more information on its next earnings call in April. In the statement put out Monday Apple wrote, "outside of China, customer demand across our product and service categories has been strong to date and in line with our expectations."
According to Reuters, Apple has forecast $63 billion to $67 billion in revenue for the quarter ending in March, ahead of estimates of $62.4 billion. The outbreak is expected to give the Chinese economy some struggle in the weeks and months ahead. Companies are expected to have a hard time restarting production on supply chains from the smartphone industry to cars.
