Apple could be about to smash its own profitability record

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European Commission could get even tougher on tech in 2020
This Thursday could be a very good one for Apple.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple will report its quarterly earnings this Thursday and, according to analysts, it could be about to beat its own record for most profitable quarter in corporate history.

The current forecasts call for Apple to announce a net income of at least $19 billion for the three months leading up to December 2017. The holiday quarter, which is traditionally Apple’s biggest, was the quarter in which Apple introduced its next-gen iPhone X and iPhone 8 handsets. Up to now, Apple’s most successful quarter of all time was in 2015.

Back in November, Apple executives said that they were expecting the last three months of 2017 to be Apple’s “biggest quarter ever,” and a return to double-digit revenue growth for the holiday season.

A monster quarter for Apple?

Analysts at market researcher Canalys estimate that Apple shipped 29 million iPhone X handsets during the three month period, which would make it the top-selling phone leading up to Christmas. In total, Apple is predicted to have sold 81 million iPhones in the quarter, increasing revenues by up to 11 percent.

Morgan Stanley, meanwhile, is even more optimistic with predictions that revenue will increase 18 percent to $92 billion, with net income as high as $21 billion.

The quarterly earnings report is set to be the most intriguing in a while. During the period Apple’s earnings report covers, the company passed the $900 billion landmark — becoming the first ever company in history to do so. (It was also the first to pass the $700 billion and $800 billion mark.)

However, it has additionally been dogged by reports that iPhone X sales have proven somewhat more disappointing than Apple hoped. As the Financial Times notes, if Apple posts blockbuster quarterly earnings, it will need to maintain these for 2018 or the company could find itself facing, “the seemingly paradoxical prospect of its shares falling at the same time as it reports record profits.”

Did you buy a new iPhone, or other Apple products, during the period Apple’s quarterly earnings covers? Let us know in the comments below.

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