When Apple reported its December quarter earnings on Thursday, it revealed that China sales had dropped 11.1% on an annual basis. Cook told analysts that over half of the decline was due to inventory issues.

Apple reported $18.5 billion in sales in greater China last quarter, comfortably below consensus estimates of $20.9 billion.

Apple's latest earnings were a mixed bag, with slipping iPhone sales countered by rising revenue. Reporting after the bell Thursday, the iPhone maker’s

Apple beat Wall Street's quarterly profit estimates on Thursday, but iPhone sales and China revenue for the holiday quarter were weak due to stiff Chinese competition and a slow rollout of artificial intelligence features.

Apple's earnings call is today at 5 pm ET. AAPL stock heads into the report down 4% YTD. Analysts are focused on services and China sales.

The tech giant’s sales of apps and services helped profit grow 7 percent from a year ago, even as the company contended with slumping sales in China.

Wall Street is mainly focused on Apple's iPhone sales in China and any guidance related to its March quarter, which could include iPhone SE4 sales.

Apple executives on Thursday forecast relatively strong sales growth, a sign the company will recover from a dip in iPhone sales as it rolls out artificial intelligence features. The forecast comes after Apple delivered a slight drop in iPhone revenues for the holiday shopping quarter and lagged Wall Street estimates,

Apple reported fiscal first-quarter earnings Thursday. Analysts are focused on iPhone momentum following a sluggish start to the year for Apple's stock.