Apple has surpassed a significant milestone in India, generating over $10 billion in annual sales for the first time as it strengthens its manufacturing presence and retail footprint, amid rising supply chain challenges and fluctuating investor sentiment.
Apple has crossed a notable threshold in India, generating $10 billion in annual sales for the first time as it deepens its commercial and manufacturing footprint in one of its fastest-expanding markets. Bloomberg reported that the figure, for the fiscal year to March, was up from about $9 billion a year earlier and was driven mainly by iPhone demand, with iPad and MacBook sales also contributing. The company has been widening its retail presence too, including the opening of its sixth official store in Mumbai in February.
India is becoming more important to Apple for reasons that go well beyond local sales. The country now hosts five iPhone manufacturing plants and produces about one in four iPhones globally, according to the supplied reports. That gives Apple a larger buffer as competition intensifies in China, where Huawei and other domestic rivals are pressuring sales. Apple’s push in India also reflects a broader effort to diversify production away from a single manufacturing base, while tapping a consumer market where premium smartphones still have room to grow.
Even so, investors have been paying closer attention to near-term risks. Phillip Securities downgraded Apple from Neutral to Reduce, keeping its price target unchanged at $290, after warning that rising memory costs and supply constraints could squeeze margins. The firm pointed to Apple’s fiscal fourth-quarter revenue guidance of $111.7 billion to $113.7 billion, which was below Wall Street expectations of roughly $114.3 billion. The analyst also said there was limited evidence that Apple Intelligence is yet prompting a meaningful upgrade cycle.
Apple’s own comments underline those concerns. Chief executive Tim Cook described the rise in memory costs as a “hundred-year flood”, while management said gross margin is expected to ease to 47% to 48%. Some other brokerages remain less cautious: MarketBeat reported that Phillip Securities later upgraded the stock to Hold in February after a strong quarterly result, while other firms have recently flagged valuation, weak iPhone demand and a lack of clear AI-driven product momentum. Institutional positioning has remained relatively stable, with hedge fund ownership ticking up from 169 to 170 between the fourth quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026, and short interest still close to 1%.
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