Handicapping Apple earnings reports has become a bit of a hobby for Wall Street investors. As the Cupertino, Calif. company readies release of fourth-quarter sales figures later Monday, the latest round of three-piece tea leaf-readers are projecting Apple will report a 13 percent jump in earnings on revenue between $8.7 billion and $10.5 billion.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters Financial foresee Apple earnings reaching $1.42 per share, higher than Apple’s own public expectations of between $1.18 to $1.23 per share, according to the Wall Street Journal. In 2008, Apple reported earnings rose 26 percent to $1.14 billion during the fourth-quarter ended September 30.
During the previous quarter, Apple introduced a number of upgraded products as well as lowered prices on some Macs. Although Cupertino introduced iPods with new features, such as the iPod nano with a video camera, some analysts see lower demand for the popular MP3 players.
Likewise, although Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster sees Apple selling 7.5 million iPhones during September, others believe demand outstripping supply could hurt the quarter. Analyst Yair Reiner told investors Friday he envisions unmet demand to turn December into a “catch-up quarter” benefitting Apple. In early September, Apple reported it had sold 3.5 million iPhones.
Macs, an area of Apple sales that previously was overshadowed by the iPhone, may gain a more prominent place in today’s earnings. Analysts predict the company is on target to possibly sell 2.8 million Macs for the fourth-quarter, up from the 2.6 million Macs sold during the same quarter in 2008. How well Macs sold during the fourth quarter “will be regarded as a commentary on whether those price cuts went far enough,” according to CNet.
Apple’s fourth quarter earnings are expected to be released after 1p.m. Pacific, 5 p.m. Eastern. Apple was near $187 per share in pre-trading and closed Friday at $188.
[Via AppleInsider and CNet]
