In Wake Of Apple’s Falling Share Price Samsung Sells 100M Galaxies

Word Apple is lowering component orders as a result of weaker-than-expected iPhone sales has seen the company’s share price drop below the $US500 mark.It’s the first time Apple’s shares have dropped below $500 since February of 2012, and it presents a stark contrast to the company’s performance ahead of the iPhone 5’s launch when shares reached an all-time high $702.10.

Interestingly, Apple shares began their wayward descent one day after the iPhone 5 began its global rollout on the 21st of September. The pioneering smartphone lost its shine following aggressive competition from hungry rival Samsung and puppeteer Google.

In fact, this morning Samsung announced it has sold 100 million Galaxy S smartphones, which include the original Galaxy, the Galaxy SII and the current Galaxy SIII. It took Samsung 2 years and 7 months to reach the same milestone it took Apple nearly four years to meet.

As Apple’s rivals continue to strip market share, reports from the Nikkei and The Wall Street Journal allege Apple is reducing component orders by almost half of last month’s volume; some interpreting the move as a sign iPhone 5 sales are weakening.

Despite the ruckus, analysts are reassuring investors they were forewarned.

“We believe this news is not new, as we first discussed potential supply chain component cuts in our report on December 19,” JP Morgan analyst Mark Moskowitz said in a note to CNet. “We believe the news is more noise, and we believe the stock reaction has been overdone,” he added.

Apple’s performance will be a little clearer next week when the company reports its fiscal first-quarter 2013 results, which is the first full quarter of iPhone 5 sales. Apple projects just under 50 million iPhones have been sold, but that figure includes sales of the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4.