Apple's market value falls below $2tn amid mounting concerns of a global slowdown

The technology company's share price has dropped more than 30% over the past twelve months

An Apple store in Shanghai. China's Covid-19 restrictions affected the production of iPhones last year. AFP

Apple's market value fell below $2 trillion for the first time since March 2021 as inflation and global supply issues persist amid mounting concerns of a slowing global economy.

The shares of Apple, which is still the world's largest company by market value, fell by about 4 per cent at the close of trading on Tuesday to $125.07, dragging the iPhone maker's market capitalisation lower.

The shares had been buttressed by the digital uptake across the world at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, propelling the technology company's market value to $2 trillion in August 2020.

Apple's market value briefly surpassed $3 trillion in January 2022.

However, the tide turned as economies reopened and people returned to work while supply chain disruptions persisted and concerns about a slowing global economy and looming recession mounted.

The company's share price has dropped more than 30 per cent over the last twelve months and it underperformed the S&P 500 index in 2022.

US stock markets closed lower on Tuesday amid investor concern about the pace of interest rate increases as they await minutes from the Federal Reserve's meeting in December.

In November, Apple said Covid-19 restrictions in China affected the main iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro Max warehouse in Zhengzhou, significantly reducing its operating capacity.

The company's iPhone sales account for about 47.3 per cent of its revenue.

On Sunday, the International Monetary Fund's managing director Kristalina Georgieva said a third of the world's economies could slide into a recession in 2023 as the three biggest economies — the US, the EU and China — are all slowing down simultaneously.

In October, Apple reported a flat fourth-quarter net profit for the 2022 fiscal year despite record revenue in the July-September period.

The company’s net profit in the period ending on September 24 came in at more than $20.7 billion, only $170 million more than in the same period a year before.

Apple’s net profit for the full financial year increased 5.4 per cent to $99.8 billion. Its 12-month sales stood at $394.3bn, up more than 7.7 per cent on an annual basis.

Last fall, Apple unveiled a redesigned iPad and upgraded iPad Pro as part of its tablet line-up to attract new customers.

The new product line is part of Apple's push to enhance the performance of the devices in activities such as the production of high-resolution videos and school projects, while allowing a seamless experience with graphics-heavy video games.

The company also unveiled the iPhone 14 series, the Apple Watch 8 Series and new AirPods last month.

Apple is not the only company whose share price has tanked.

The price of Tesla shares continued to nosedive on Tuesday, falling more than 12 per cent to $108.10, dragging the electric vehicle maker's market value lower to $338.73 billion, well below its $1 trillion market capitalisation reached in October 2021.

The decline came after the company latest quarterly EV deliveries missed analyst estimates.

Tesla's share price has declined by about 72 per cent over the past twelve months due to concerns about EV demand and the impact of chief executive Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter.

The company was removed from the S&P 500 ESG Index last year as its value began to plummet.