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Apple's incredible growth streak is officially over

Sales down for the first time since 2003.

The Verge

Apple’s decade-plus-long growth streak is officially over. And the company says it will be at least a few more months before it picks up again.

Apple reported today that its second-quarter revenue fell to $50.6 billion, down 13 percent from the same period last year. That marks Apple’s first year-over-year revenue decline since 2003, after an incredible growth period that started at less than $2 billion in quarterly revenue.

Apple quarterly revenue growth chart

And Apple says its decline will continue, at least for now: The company forecast June quarter sales between $41 billion and $43 billion. At the midpoint, that represents a 15 percent year-over-year sales decline. And it’s worse than Wall Street was expecting: Consensus had been around $47 billion. Shares are down about 7 percent in after-hours trading.

Why the weakness? You can mainly credit the iPhone, which represents almost two-thirds of Apple’s business. iPhone revenue fell 18 percent year over year on 51 million shipments. And demand in China, which has driven much of Apple’s growth over the past few years, also fell, with sales down 26 percent year over year.

Apple's China business

Currency fluctuations also hurt. On the company’s earnings call, CEO Tim Cook said sales would have only declined 9 percent year over year in constant currency.

Three bright spots: Apple’s services business, which includes things like the iTunes store and Apple Music, which grew sales 20 percent during the quarter; the “Other Products” segment, which includes the Apple Watch and Apple TV, and grew 30 percent year over year; and Japan, which grew 24 percent.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

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