Apple shares poised for sell-off after iPhone sales disappoint

Shares in technology giant Apple are today poised to fall around 5% after it delivered a trading update which missed expectations.

The maker of the iPhone and iPad made a net profit of $8.8bn in the three months ending in June, up 21% from a year earlier but lower than forecast. Sales came in at $35bn, up from $28.6bn in 2011, but missing expectations, as analysts were looking for third quarter revenue of $37.2bn, according to a Thomson Reuters poll. The company sold 26m iPhones during the quarter, a rise of 28%, but this was not enough to meet predictions. The rare miss was blamed on dwindling demand for its latest phone, as customers wait for the latest upgrade to come out before they buy. Apple's forecast f...