Market Insider

Apple stock falls on disappointment about iPhone X release date

Key Points
  • Apple stock slipped on disappointment the company will not begin taking orders for its much-anticipated iPhone X until October.
  • Apple had previously said it would ship the phone during its fiscal first quarter, which includes October and November.
  • There was also concern that its facial recognition function will not work well, after the new Face ID feature failed to work during the demo.
Apple stock falls on disappointment about iPhone X release date
VIDEO0:5600:56
Apple stock falls on disappointment about iPhone X release date

Apple stock fell amid disappointment the company will not begin taking orders on its much-anticipated iPhone X model until October.

It ended Tuesday trading at $160.82, down 0.4 percent.

There was also concern about its new facial recognition technology, after the function failed when it was being demonstrated by Apple during its unveiling. The new Face ID feature is supposed to let users unlock their phones by looking at it.

Apple launched two new iPhone 8 models and a new watch Tuesday afternoon.

"The big phone is not coming out until October," said Art Cashin, director of floor operations at UBS. The phone will be available for order in October before launching in November.

Traders said there were expectations its 10th anniversary iPhone X, which Apple priced at $999, would begin shipping shortly, though there was speculation it was in short supply.

In a statement, Apple said: "When we issued guidance for Q4 in July, we anticipated that the iPhone X would begin shipping in fiscal Q1." Apple is currently in its fourth fiscal quarter, which began July 2.

"This stock rallied right up into the unveiling of this," said Peter Boockvar, chief market analyst at Lindsey Group. "There was chatter going into this that there were going to be glitches and delays. ... We priced this phone in already."

It is not unusual for Apple stock to run up ahead of an iPhone announcement, and On the day of 11 iPhone announcements, the stock was lower 75 percent of the time and ended flat on average, with a gain of 0.04 percent.

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