Investors won’t get their first glimpse at just how badly the COVID-19 pandemic hurt Apple’s business until the very end of April.
April revealed this afternoon that it will host a conference call with investors on Thursday, April 30, at 2 p.m. Pacific. The company said in February that it expects revenues to come in lower than its guidance due to the coronavirus outbreak that shut down Apple’s stores and production pipeline during the quarter.
Guidance for Apple’s second fiscal report of 2020 was set between $63 billion and $67 billion. The company is coming off a historic holiday earnings report that saw it bring in a record $91.8 billion in revenue.
Apple’s rough Q2
We don’t how bad Apple’s Q2 2020 numbers will look when they arrive. However, the company’s sales in China sales took the biggest hit during the period. The most interesting numbers investors will be looking for will be Apple’s guidance for the current quarter (Q3 2020). Most of the company’s stores outside of mainland China remain closed at this time.
“Work is starting to resume around [China], but we are experiencing a slower return to normal conditions than we had anticipated,” Apple said in a statement to investors. “As a result, we do not expect to meet the revenue guidance we provided for the March quarter due to two main factors.”
Apple hasn’t made any official comments on how badly the COVID-19 pandemic has affected business in the United States. The company’s online retail store remains open. Plenty of items remain in stock. Even AirPods Pro — which have been scarce for months — are finally available to ship within a week.
However, U.S. unemployment shot to its highest levels since the Great Depression during the coronavirus lockdown. So it’s unlikely people are rushing online to buy new iPhones and iPads.
