(Newser)
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The iPhone 5 may not be selling quite so well as Apple planned. Insiders tell the Wall Street Journal that lower demand has prompted the company to cut parts orders for the January-March quarter. Apple is reportedly ordering just half the screens it had intended to order, a move that Citigroup attributes in part to likely "good not great" demand. But the cuts may compound worries about Apple's continued growth, the Journal notes.
Shares closed Friday at $520.30, compared to a high of $705.07 in September. In the first quarter of last year, Apple controlled 23% of the global smartphone market, a figure that dropped to 14.6% in the third quarter. Meanwhile, rival Samsung boasted a 31.3% market share in the third quarter. It is possible, however, that Apple made an extra-large order in the October-December quarter to account for manufacturing issues, an analyst says. After boosting production in those months, Apple may have more stock than it planned, Citigroup adds. (Click to read about Samsung's secret.)
