Apple reports quarterly earnings after the bell, when Wall Street will scour the company’s finances for signs that consumers are shelling out for new iPhones.
- Q4 adjusted EPS: $1.87 expected by a Thomson Reuters consensus estimate.
- Q4 revenue: $50.7 billion expected by Thomson Reuters.
- Q4 iPhone unit sales: 46 million expected by a FactSet consensus estimate.
- Q1 revenue guidance: $84.9 billion expected by Thomson Reuters.
Apple’s flagship product, the iPhone X, hits stores on Friday — later than usual — and isn’t reflected in Thursday’s quarterly earnings report. And the report barely raises the curtain on sales of the iPhone 8 series.
Still, with a little reading between the lines, Apple’s fiscal fourth-quarter performance may hint at whether consumers are waiting on the new phone to splurge during the all-important holiday season.
This all comes as Apple moves within arm’s reach of a trillion-dollar valuation, securing its place as the most valuable public company in the world. Apple shares have risen about 50 percent over the past year, with a market capitalization of over $850 billion as of Thursday afternoon.
Though the iPhone franchise is somewhat in limbo, there are other factors afoot for Apple. For one, Apple is likely the top beneficiary of U.S. technology companies when it comes to a new Republican tax proposal on overseas cash.
Apple also has a blossoming services business. That division includes content, AppleCare, and Apple Pay, but the App Store is the “jewel” of the services segment, Pacific Crest analyst Andy Hargreaves wrote earlier this year.
Apple has invested heavily in greater China— historically its third-largest market behind the Americas and Europe — and has a nascent customer base in India.
The company also showed off other new products in the back half of this year, amid back-to-school shopping season: the Apple Watch Series 3 with a cellular connection, its thinnest and lightest MacBook yet, and the Apple TV 4K. The HomePod speaker is also forthcoming.
This is breaking news. Check back for updates.
Source: Tech CNBC
Apple reports earnings after the bell