Earnings preview: Wall Street awaits record shattering $67B quarter from Apple
With just a few hours to go before Apple reports the results of its first fiscal quarter of 2015, Wall Street is hyped for what it expects will be a blockbuster, all-time record for the iPhone maker.
The New York Stock Exchange, credit Carlos Delgado via Wikipedia.
A poll of 40 analysts by Thomson Reuters has estimated revenue for the December quarter at $67.69 billion. J.P. Morgan's consensus estimates are slightly lower, at $67.45 billion, while Wells Fargo Securities has estimated Wall Street expectations at $67.3 billion.
All eyes will be on iPhone sales, with huge expectations for Apple's newly released iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Apple's primary revenue driver is expected by Wall Street to have moved between 65 million and 69 million units during the three-month span, according to estimates from Piper Jaffray.
Those numbers would shatter Apple's previous all-time record, set in the December 2013 quarter, when the company sold 51 million iPhones and earned $57.6 billion in revenue.
As for Apple's other primary product categories, Piper Jaffray pegs market expectations for the iPad at 22.5 million units, which would be a 14 percent year over year decline. Professional analysts polled by Fortune are slightly lower, with expectations of 21.11 million iPads sold in the quarter.
Mac sales, however, are expected to grow 10 percent year over year to 5.3 million units, according to Piper Jaffray. Fortune's poll has expectations slightly higher, with professional analysts calling for 5.49 million Macs to be sold in the December frame.
Regarding gross margins, J.P. Morgan has market consensus at 38.5 percent. Average estimate for earnings per share for the quarter is $2.60.
Apple will report the results of its first quarter of fiscal 2015 this afternoon after the markets close. AppleInsider will have full, live coverage of the print, as well as the conference call scheduled to follow.
The New York Stock Exchange, credit Carlos Delgado via Wikipedia.
A poll of 40 analysts by Thomson Reuters has estimated revenue for the December quarter at $67.69 billion. J.P. Morgan's consensus estimates are slightly lower, at $67.45 billion, while Wells Fargo Securities has estimated Wall Street expectations at $67.3 billion.
All eyes will be on iPhone sales, with huge expectations for Apple's newly released iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Apple's primary revenue driver is expected by Wall Street to have moved between 65 million and 69 million units during the three-month span, according to estimates from Piper Jaffray.
Those numbers would shatter Apple's previous all-time record, set in the December 2013 quarter, when the company sold 51 million iPhones and earned $57.6 billion in revenue.
As for Apple's other primary product categories, Piper Jaffray pegs market expectations for the iPad at 22.5 million units, which would be a 14 percent year over year decline. Professional analysts polled by Fortune are slightly lower, with expectations of 21.11 million iPads sold in the quarter.
Mac sales, however, are expected to grow 10 percent year over year to 5.3 million units, according to Piper Jaffray. Fortune's poll has expectations slightly higher, with professional analysts calling for 5.49 million Macs to be sold in the December frame.
Regarding gross margins, J.P. Morgan has market consensus at 38.5 percent. Average estimate for earnings per share for the quarter is $2.60.
Apple will report the results of its first quarter of fiscal 2015 this afternoon after the markets close. AppleInsider will have full, live coverage of the print, as well as the conference call scheduled to follow.
Comments
Do you think Apple should blow the quarter's profits on something?
If so, what?
My vote is to aquire Yelp and Shazam.
Just for fun:
Do you think Apple should blow the quarter's profits on something?
If so, what?
My vote is to aquire Yelp and Shazam.
Free 5k iMacs for shareholders! " src="http://forums-files.appleinsider.com/images/smilies//lol.gif" />
That or jackets. I'd like a nice jacket. The WWDC ones are nice.
Backpacks for all employees!
With iPad sales almost certainly down, the media's going to headline this as a mixed report.
With iPad sales almost certainly down, the media's going to headline this as a mixed report.
And it had to be announced on iPad's fifth birthday too, poor guy.
At the end of the day, it still ain't enough for those greedy mofos on Wall Street.
Ain't never enough!
God help us all.
Backpacks for all employees!
Why should employees be rewarded!? Shareholders do the hardest work of all!!!
/s
Based on the current state of the NASDAQ, if Apple beats estimates I think after market will see a rise by at least 2.5%.
Yes.
Me.
Clear backpacks to help facilitate those property searches before they leave work.
You had me at free 5K, but you lost me when you referenced the number of pixels and not dollars.
Has Apple had a holiday quarter where the iPad unit sales were down?
Based on the current state of the NASDAQ, if Apple beats estimates I think after market will see a rise by at least 2.5%.
Yes.
Me.
Actually, I'd take just being made an Apple Fellow or something.
Or a day in Jony's lab.
Just for fun:
Do you think Apple should blow the quarter's profits on something?
If so, what?
My vote is to aquire Yelp and Shazam.
Yelp is massively overvalued with a market capitalization of over $4 billion.
Shazam is privately held, but its valuation is probably around $600-700 million. If Apple wanted to acquire music identification technology, there are cheaper alternatives.
Note that with the exception of Beats, Apple does not pursue companies with a well-established brand. The underlying technology as well as the skills of the employees are far more important.
Apple should continue stock buyback program, that definitely increases shareholder value.
In terms of corporate acquisitions, my preference would favor small semiconductor design firms, especially those involved in communications chip design.
Clear backpacks to help facilitate those property searches before they leave work.
No, no, this is Apple Insider, not Amazon Insider.
And it had to be announced on iPad's fifth birthday too, poor guy.
I think the iPhone 6 Plus is cannibalizing iPad sales in the consumer space but with the rumored 12" iPad, it will move more "up market" into enterprise and niche high-end areas.
I like your idea here... This would allow eliminating even more third-party components providers, and allow Apple greater control in-house over their designs. Also might distance then for any potential future patent troll litigations.
Or they could just buy some semiconductor fabs. That'll solve the issue of Samsung vs TSMC.
I think the iPhone 6 Plus is cannibalizing iPad sales in the consumer space but with the rumored 12" iPad, it will move more "up market" into enterprise and niche high-end areas.
I think it's going to cannibalize the Mini more than the Air, but a larger iPad will help balance things.
I wish there were a video feed of the call. I really want to see Tim report the numbers and just drop the mic and walk out.
Yelp is massively overvalued with a market capitalization of over $4 billion.
Shazam is privately held, but its valuation is probably around $600-700 million. If Apple wanted to acquire music identification technology, there are cheaper alternatives.
Apple should continue stock buyback program, that definitely increases shareholder value.
In terms of corporate acquisitions, my preference would favor small semiconductor design firms, especially those involved in communications chip design.
"In terms of corporate acquisitions, my preference would favor small semiconductor design firms, especially those involved in communications chip design."
Definitely good ideas. I'd also like to see Apple buy a company like Box to boost & aid their iCloud side of their business.
My feeling is that Box itself is overvalued at $2+ billion. One of Box's competitors might be a suitable acquisition target, but they would need to have fundamentally unique technology to make them interesting to Apple.
I vote for two acquisitions.
1). Netflix
2) Sprint or T-mobile