Earnings preview: Wall Street awaits record shattering $67B quarter from Apple

Posted:
in AAPL Investors edited February 2015
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.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 40
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    And AAPL will fall whatever, no doubt.
  • Reply 2 of 40
    calicali Posts: 3,494member
    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.
  • Reply 3 of 40
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cali View Post



    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! <img class=" src="http://forums-files.appleinsider.com/images/smilies//lol.gif" />

     

    That or jackets. I'd like a nice jacket. The WWDC ones are nice.

  • Reply 4 of 40

    Backpacks for all employees!

  • Reply 5 of 40
    arlorarlor Posts: 532member

    With iPad sales almost certainly down, the media's going to headline this as a mixed report.

  • Reply 6 of 40
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Arlor View Post

     

    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.

  • Reply 7 of 40
    But analyst wanted $67.69001 billion!
    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.
  • Reply 8 of 40
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by bdkennedy1 View Post

     

    Backpacks for all employees!


     

    Why should employees be rewarded!? Shareholders do the hardest work of all!!!

     

     

     

    /s

  • Reply 9 of 40
    And AAPL will fall whatever, no doubt.

    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%.

    cali wrote: »
    Do you think Apple should blow the quarter's profits on something?

    Yes.
    If so, what?

    Me. :D

    bdkennedy1 wrote: »
    Backpacks for all employees!

    Clear backpacks to help facilitate those property searches before they leave work.

    Free 5k iMacs for shareholders! :lol:

    You had me at free 5K, but you lost me when you referenced the number of pixels and not dollars.

    arlor wrote: »
    With iPad sales almost certainly down, the media's going to headline this as a mixed report.

    Has Apple had a holiday quarter where the iPad unit sales were down?
  • Reply 10 of 40
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismY View Post





    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. image



    Actually, I'd take just being made an Apple Fellow or something.

     

    Or a day in Jony's lab.

  • Reply 11 of 40
    mpantonempantone Posts: 2,033member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cali View Post



    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.

  • Reply 12 of 40
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismY View Post

    Clear backpacks to help facilitate those property searches before they leave work.

    No, no, this is Apple Insider, not Amazon Insider. :D

  • Reply 13 of 40
    mpantone wrote: »
    In terms of corporate acquisitions, my preference would favor small semiconductor design firms, especially those involved in communications chip design.
    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.
  • Reply 14 of 40
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by TheWhiteFalcon View Post

     



    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.

  • Reply 15 of 40
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by MagMan1979 View Post





    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.

  • Reply 16 of 40
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by CanukStorm View Post

     

    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.

  • Reply 17 of 40
    jakebjakeb Posts: 562member

    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. 

     

  • Reply 18 of 40
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by mpantone View Post

     



    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.

  • Reply 19 of 40
    mpantonempantone Posts: 2,033member



    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.

  • Reply 20 of 40
    cali wrote: »
    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.

    I vote for two acquisitions.

    1). Netflix

    2) Sprint or T-mobile
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