Apple Says Coronavirus Will Ding Future Revenue

Citing the deadly coronavirus, Apple has become the first major company to admit it won’t meet its projected revenue for this quarter because of the outbreak, according to published reports Monday (Feb. 17).

The tech giant has a limited production of its iPhone products for worldwide sales, and also cut back on sales in China, where the COVID-19 virus has broken out.

Last month, Apple predicted that its revenue could fall somewhere between the range of $63 billion to $67 billion, with the wider-than-normal gulf due to the presence of the virus, which has killed hundreds of people in China and infected many worldwide.

There was no update to those projections on Monday, but Apple said it would keep providing information as it came in, and that the situation in China is still evolving.

The broad effects of the coronavirus have had wide implications, with Apple’s announcement being the most prominent so far in terms of global markets and sales. The effects of the virus on business are expected to affect things like smartphone sales and commodity prices, delaying production in various industries based in the China region.

Those problems have extended to supply chains worldwide. Assembly lines from Asia to Europe need parts to move quickly between China and their own plant locations. Volkswagen said on Monday that it would be postponing restarts on production for another week, and Fiat Chrysler said last week that it had temporarily slowed down because it couldn’t get the parts it needed from China in time.

China has continued to deal with delays as it tackles the matter of finding a cure for the virus and containing its spread.

Oil prices have fallen 11 percent in recent weeks as reduced demand has been anticipated in China. The outbreak has also hit iron-ore prices. The fall in tourism from China has also affected luxury brands such as Estée Lauder Cos. and Capri Holdings, which own the Versace and Jimmy Choo brands.