Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) is reporting earnings later this week, and it's certainly going to have a major impact on the market given its large weight in the indices. Further, it will be interesting to see how much of Apple's revenues are impacted by the recent spate of economic challenges, or will it prove to be immune as it has in many of the growth slowdowns of the past decade.
Some bears are pointing to the company's recent discounting of iPhones in China as an indication that revenue is bound to disappoint since this is certainly unusual for the company. Currently, it's offering discounts of around $40 to $90 on iPhone 12, iPhone 13, iPhone SE, and certain models of AirPods and Apple Watch.
The promotion is running from July 29 through August 1. These discounts are not available to customers outside of China or on older models, where margins might already be slimmer. These discounts are also only available for customers paying with specific methods, and it's placing a limit on how many items can be bought per customer with the discounts. There are reports that Apple also plans to offer similar promotions in other countries, including the U.S.
Apple Hires Lamborghini Exec
Another interesting news item also dropped that Apple has hired a long-time executive from Lamborghini, Luigi Taborrelli who has worked in its R&D department and was also in charge of its chassis and vehicle dynamics division.
He will become one of the most senior managers of 'Project Titan' which is rumored to be Apple's new EV which is expected to launch later this decade. Based on his background, it seems that Apple is introduced to producing an actual car rather than software as previously speculated. Apple VP Kevin Lynch, who previously was in charge of the team that designed and launched the Apple Watch, is the head of Project Titan.