“Apple is set to beat its own record for the most profitable quarter in corporate history when it reports earnings on Thursday, with analysts forecasting net income of at least $19bn,” Tim Bradshaw writes for The Financial Times.
“The three months to December 2017 — the smartphone maker’s fiscal first quarter and traditionally its biggest — is the first to include sales of the new iPhone X and is expected to beat its previous quarterly record of $18bn net income in 2015,” Bradshaw writes. “Analysts at market researcher Canalys estimate Apple shipped 29m iPhone Xs in the quarter, making it the top-selling smartphone in the run-up to Christmas. Analysts forecast that Apple sold 81m iPhones in the quarter, driving total revenues up 11 per cent to about $86bn.”
“With iPhones expected to make up more than two-thirds of Apple’s total sales, some analysts are even more optimistic about the results. Morgan Stanley predicts revenues will jump 18 per cent to $92bn, with net income as high as $21bn,” Bradshaw writes. “However, a blockbuster performance in the December quarter could mean iPhone sales slow down faster this year than Wall Street is expecting. If Apple provides revenue guidance for the March quarter that comes in short of Wall Street’s current expectations of $66bn-$69bn, it faces the seemingly paradoxical prospect of its shares falling at the same time as it reports record profits.”
Much more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: The consensus sales projection of 81 million iPhone units in the quarter is too low.
It’s all about the guidance. – MacDailyNews, October 21, 2008
SEE ALSO:
Apple earnings: Forget taxes and batteries, the $1,000 iPhone X remains the story – January 26, 2018
Apple likely sold over 100 million iPhones in Christmas quarter – January 26, 2018
Apple’s December quarter iPhone sales could top a stunning 100 million units – January 24, 2018
Canalys: Apple shipped 29 million iPhone X units in Q4 2017; world’s best-selling smartphone over the holiday season – January 23, 2018
iPhone X accounted for 1 in 5 iPhones sold by Apple in America last quarter – January 22, 2018
Apple to release Q118 earnings, webcast live conference call on February 1st – January 8, 2018
Apple’s iPhone X offers the best smartphone display in the world and its also the most resistant to OLED burn-in – January 2, 2018
DisplayMate: Apple’s iPhone X has the most color accurate display we’ve ever measured; it is visually indistinguishable from perfect – November 8, 2017
So, everything is setting up perfectly for a big drop in Apple share price. Don’t these analists ever look beyond three months. What the hell, stock will bounce back in a month or so.
Wall Street & Analyst = The worst criminals on earth.
Gone are the days of investing in a stock and getting a good return over five years or more. These assholes want to make a profit in 2 or 3 days. So looking at the next three months is being way too generous. Their coked out heads can’t even think about the next day.
The movie “Wall Street” if remade today would make the original look like preschool. If the DC swamp ever gets cleaned up, the SEC and Wall Street needs to be next.
It won’t matter either way, the stock will drop even more. And even if by some miracle the stock does go up it won’t even recover what it has lost in the past ~2 weeks due to all the manipulation
If I understand correctly a great quarterly result is bad news because it would mean a lower than expected guidance for the next one which will make the stock price drop. And a disappointing quarter will make the stock price drop anyhow.
I guess we will probably have a nice buying opportunity then.
And yet the profitless companies continue to move up Netflix, and Amazon.
i suspect the thinking behind the rising stock of amazon is the presumption that once they drive everyone else out of business by undercutting their prices, amazon will raise their own prices and make out like the bandits they are.
netflix works on the principle of “cocooning” it is easier and cheaper and less inconvenient for people to stay home and stream entertainment
Low margin retail will never make up, for giving it away.
There’s a lot of irrationality out there, which is why some of the really smart guys are now having concerns about a “Melt-Up” (final hurrah! before a huge correction, as in 1929).
Yet manipulation of Stocks and news – – particularly to influence the Jim Cramer -esque small DIY investor – – remains a big factor as well.
Case in point:
Happened to have a FB friend post a “Thank you POTUS!” because his company’s stock beat reports last week and shot up that day, giving him a pretty nice one day gain of $7500 (if he had actually sold his stock, which he did not).
Yea, politics. Well, ignoring that and just doing some simple research and tracking on the stock lead me to following insights.
That +$7500? Well, its gone. As of yesterday’s close, he’s now down $5000. Somehow I don’t think I’ll be reading a FB post update about that.
And in looking at fundamentals, the company in question is improving margin through in-house efficiencies, but isn’t growing sales. Uh-oh.
Oh, and their P/E is 80:1 …
Thanks, but no thanks. Not good enough for my portfolio.
I sense, even Apple is set to beat its own record for the most profitable quarter in corporate history when it reports earnings on Thursday, AAPL is going to tank after hours, why?.
Because Wall Street likes to overlook this quarter great earning reports. They project next quarter will be low iPhone sales. 🙁
Enron.
Valeant.