Apple shares fall on growth worries

The slide in Apple's shares from the record high they reached just a fortnight ago accelerated on Tuesday as the iPad maker was poised to report a drop in quarterly profits.Investors' latest anxiety was focused on whether AT&T and Verizon, America's two largest phone companies, will maintain the subsidies they offer consumers on the iPhone.It is one of several concerns that have seen Apple shares tumble 12% since touching a record of $636.23 on April 9. It was a blistering run that saw Apple become the world's most valuable company and was dubbed "Apple fever".The head of AT&T's mobile division said yesterday that the company is always examining alternatives to the model in which it subsidies the iPhone. Rival Verizon sparked concern last week when it said that users would be charged $30 (£18.60) when they upgraded phones, a move some fear will dent sales of the iPhone 5 when it is introduced later this year.Despite the concern over the future of the iPhone subsidy, the vast majority of Wall Street analysts are recommending that investors buy shares in the Californian company. Two analysts have forecast the shares will reach $1,000 over the next 12 months.However, the rare decline in a share price that investors have become accustomed to seeing move in only one direction, will intensify the scrutiny of the outlook Apple gives for the rest of the year."The high expectations are the danger with investing in Apple right now," said Colin Gillis, an analyst at BGC Partners.Apple is expected to report it made profits of $9.4 billion in the first three months of the year, down sharply from the record $13 billion it made in the previous quarter, which is always strong in the run-up to Christmas.The profits, though, will be up on the $5.99 billion Apple made in the first quarter of 2011 and investors will want reassurance from chief executive Tim Cook that a similar rate of growth can be sustained.Shares in Apple were down 1.9% at $561 in early afternoon trading on Wall Street.