Worldwide shipments of smartphones plunged in the fourth and final quarter of 2022 to their lowest level ever, according to market research firm IDC.
Economic weakness and soft consumer demand were blamed for the fact that electronics firms such as Apple (AAPL) and Samsung shipped 300.3 million smartphones in the October through December period, an 18.3% year-over-year decline.
The nearly 20% drop in smartphone shipments is the largest-ever decline in a single quarter.
A total of 1.21 billion smartphones were shipped around the world in 2022, which represents the lowest annual shipment total since 2013, said IDC.
Shipments represent the devices that companies such as Apple and Samsung send to retailers and mobile carriers. They do not equal sales but are viewed as an indication of demand.
Apple maintained its position as the number one smartphone maker in the world. The U.S. technology giant shipped 72.3 million iPhones in the fourth quarter, down 14.9% year-over-year.
Apple had a 24.1% share of the global smartphone market at the end of 2022.
Apple faced several supply chain issues in the December quarter after the world’s biggest iPhone manufacturing plant in China was hit with COVID-19 lockdowns and worker protests.
Samsung, the second-largest smartphone maker, saw shipments decline 15.6% year-over-year to 58.2 million units in Q4. Chinese electronics maker Xiaomi came in third with 33.2 million smartphones shipped in the fourth quarter of 2022, down an annualized 26.3%.
Apple’s stock has declined 11% in the last 12-months to trade at $141.86 U.S. per share.
