Apple predicts growth in near term despite down year

Apple this week reported a decline in both annual sales and profit for the first time in 15 years. The company banked $45.7 billion in profit on revenues of $215.6 billion during the last year, an annual profit decline of nearly 15 percent and an 8 percent drop in revenue compared to the company's fiscal year 2015 results. Apple saw its first year-over-year decline in revenue last April, and that downward trend continued despite new product releases and steady growth in its services busines