Wall Street expects best-ever Apple quarterly earnings

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Apple probably raked in more revenue in the 2021 holiday quarter than in any previous quarter in its history.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

When Apple reveals its financial results from the holiday shopping season on Thursday, analysts predict the company will announce its best quarter ever.

Whether the Mac-maker meets this lofty goal will have a big effect on its stock price, which has been sliding in recent weeks. 

Analysts predict boffo quarterly earnings for Apple

Wall Street expects Apple to have raked in $118 billion in revenue during the October-through-December period. That’s more than the company has ever taken in during any previous quarter. The previous record was $111 billion during the 2020 holiday quarter.

Still, the prediction is conservative in one way: it would be only a 6% year-over-year increase in revenue.

Analysts also predict that earnings per share will hit $1.88 for last quarter. That’s 12% higher than the $1.68 EPS from the previous record quarter.

A sizable percentage of Apple’s revenue is expected to come from iPhone, which is reportedly selling well. Since the release of iPhone 12 in 2020, Cupertino has dominated 5G smartphone shipments. iPad and Mac have also sold well in recent years with more people working and taking classes from home.

Quarterly results will have big effect on share price

When Apple announces its Q1 2022 financial results after the stock market closes on Thursday, much of the reaction will center on whether the company meets or exceeds analysts’ predictions for revenue and EPS.

Wall Street investors judge the value of companies like Apple based on these predictions and other financial details. So if the Mac-maker’s quarterly results fall short, expect a sell off.

This will almost certainly happen even if Apple announces record revenue that doesn’t reach the prediction. That is what occurred in October 2021 when the company announced the results from its August-through-September quarter that were up but short of the predictions.

That said, Cupertino is also subject to larger market trends. Its share price has dropped 12% throughout January over investors’ concerns over inflation and rising interest rates. But if Apple quarterly earnings exceeded Wall Street’s predictions for last quarter, the share price might shoot up.

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