During quarterly earnings calls, executives often deploy language designed to puff up, excuse or obfuscate their companies’ recent performance. The goal is to make investors pant with delight over implied future success. And ultimately to give the company more money. Always. More. Money.
But when you’re Apple — with a mind-blowing market cap and a seemingly never-ending supply of hit products, including phenomenal growth in services — you typically don’t need to craft hopeful-yet-non-material statements or deflect questions designed to get at the bottom line.
Apple’s next earnings call takes place this afternoon. CEO Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri will report on all the numbers. Analysts figure there will be a drop in revenue and earnings for the quarter ending in September (third quarter by the calendar but Apple’s Q4 because it starts its fiscal year in the holiday season).