LONDON -- (Marketwire) -- 01/25/13 -- Finspreads: Apple has recorded its biggest one-day drop in stock for four years, with investors beginning to question whether its dominance in the smartphone market is set to come to an end.

The Californian company saw its shares drop by 12.35 per cent to $450.50 at the end of trading on the Nasdaq yesterday (January 24th), wiping around $50 billion (£ 32 billion) off its overall value.

Apple remains the world's most valuable company, but shares have fallen by a third since September, with increasing concerns about the company's ability to compete with the challenges posed by Samsung and other Android-based devices.

The drop comes despite the company recording flat profits and a record quarterly revenue of $55 billion.

Analysts have attributed the company's difficulties to disappointing sales figures for its new iPhone 5.

Apple's disappointing performance has had a continued knock-on effect for its Asian suppliers, many of whom saw their shares slip.

LG, who supply Apple with displays, fell 3.1 per cent, and Hon Hai, who assemble iPhones and iPads saw its shares retreat by 3.2 per cent.

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