Apple earnings are predicted to be above market expectations according to research firm Piper Jaffray, thanks to strong December sales for the iPad and iPhone.
“iPhone and iPad remain somewhat of a wildcard, albeit positive, and we believe solid holiday demand could drive upside to Street numbers,” Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster wrote in a research note 18 January, ahead of Apple’s first quarter earnings report.
Munster said Wall Street expects Apple to tally 6.2 million iPads sold for the quarter, up 2 million from last quarter. He noted that his store checks showed the iPad outselling the Mac anywhere from 4:1 to 10:1.
Wall Street also anticipates Apple to report 15.5 million iPhones sold, or nearly double (91 percent) Apple sold for the same quarter last year.
“We believe this 91 percent growth is achievable in the Dec. quarter, as the Street was factoring in US consumers delaying iPhone purchases in anticipation of a Verizon launch,” Munster said. “In other words, while the iPhone represents a wildcard in the quarter, we believe 15.5m units is achievable.”
Jobs will continue to act as CEO, though Apple COO Tim Cook will be responsible for the company’s day-to-day operations. The news sent Apple shares plummeting 8 percent in afternoon trading from the 14 January close.
“This leads us to believe Jobs expects the leave to be shorter and/or less serious than his previous leave,” Munster opined in his note.
“Secondly, Jobs did not issue an expected return date as he did in 2009, which adds an element of uncertainty.”
What is certain is that most financial analysts, such as Gleacher & Co.’s Brian Marshall, don’t believe Apple will miss a beat with Jobs taking some down time.
“Running a $100 billion (£62 billion) annual revenue company while being forced to take periodic medical leaves is not fair to anyone (e.g., most of all to Jobs, AAPL investors or its employees/board),” Marshall wrote in a 18 January note.
“Cook has performed flawlessly in the past as AAPL’s interim CEO and we expect he will become the full-time CEO of Apple this year with Jobs hopefully serving as a senior advisor… Apple remains the best technology company on the planet with numerous catalysts on the horizon.”
Analysts also remain bullish about Apple’s March quarter, which will include some numbers about the company’s launch of the iPhone 4 on Verizon Wireless’ network.
That launch, which captured media attention all of last week, is slated for 10 February. Analysts believe the iPhone 4 launch on Verizon could add 9 million to 15 million iPhone sales this year.
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"The medical leave of absence by Steve Jobs is not predicted to have much of an impact on Apple’s first quarter"
If any analyst thought Steve's medical leave would affect Q1 earnings, that analyst should be fired immediately!
Apple's Q1 ended Dec 25, 2010. Steve Jobs announced his medical leave on Jan 17, 2011. Unless time's started moving backwards, his leave *can't* affect Q1.