Apple’s iPhone X super cycle in doubt as earnings approach

Boxes of iPhone X are pictured during its launch at the Apple store in Singapore November 3, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su

Apple Inc. shares surged by almost half last year on predictions that Apple’s 10th anniversary iPhone would be a runaway hit.

But demand for the flagship handset, the iPhone X, hasn’t met the most optimistic expectations, according to securities firms including Sanford C. Bernstein, which ratcheted back estimates for the number sold by Apple in recent months. The suspense ends Feb 1, when Apple reports fiscal first-quarter results and provides forecasts for the current quarter.