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

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.

Apple’s all-important holiday quarter was something of a mixed bag. For one, Apple posted what it called it’s “best quarter ever” with revenue of $124.3 billion, up 4 percent year over year. However, the iPhone stumbled a bit as sales in China took a tumble.

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.

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.