Apple's annual sales drop for first time in 15 years

The Apple Store in Manhattan.
(Image credit: Eric Thayer/Getty Images)

On Tuesday, Apple announced that annual sales fell to $216 billion in the 2016 fiscal year ending Sept. 30, the company's first annual sales decline since 2001, the year the iPod was introduced.

Apple had a record $234 billion in sales in 2015. The company's largest source of revenue is the iPhone, CNN Money reports, and only 45.5 million were sold in the September quarter, down from 48 million during the same time in 2015. Analysts say because the newest iPhone is very similar to the previous two models, customers are not clamoring to upgrade. The company says it is projecting it will have sales of $76 to $78 billion in the upcoming quarter, up from $74.8 billion last year.

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Catherine Garcia

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.