Despite exceeding expectations with its fourth-quarter earnings, Apple’s stock experienced a decline as investors reacted negatively to lower-than-anticipated iPhone sales. As of this moment, the stock has fallen approximately 5% during after-hours trading.

The earnings report showed a slight improvement, with Apple reporting $64.7 billion in revenue compared to the $63.7 billion analysts predicted, and earnings of $0.73 per share against an expected $0.70. While the Services and Mac segments both achieved record high revenues, iPhone revenues decreased by 20% compared to the same period last year.

Typically, Apple’s Q4 financial results benefit from initial sales figures for the latest iPhone models. However, due to a delayed release schedule this year, the impact of the new iPhones won’t be reflected in Q4 results and will instead be incorporated into the Q1 holiday quarter figures.

Last year, the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro became available on September 20, whereas this year’s iPhone 12 was released over a month later, on October 23. The iPhone 12 Pro is scheduled for release on November 13 and has not yet launched.

A key concern is whether this delay will influence the company’s future product release cadence. Will the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro have a shorter sales period than previous generations, or will October/November become the standard timeframe for future smartphone launches?

Examining other financial data, Apple reported $9.03 billion in Mac revenue, $6.80 billion in iPad revenue, $7.87 billion in Wearables revenue, and $14.55 billion in Services revenue for Q4. Notably, Services revenue is now closer than ever to matching iPhone sales, reaching just over half of the total iPhone revenue for the quarter. In 2019, this figure was closer to one-third.

The next quarter is anticipated to generate substantial revenue, but the Q4 results failed to inspire investor confidence.