Once again, Apple Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer has offered conservative and “disappointing earnings guidance for its current quarter. Not that Apple’s guidance is worth much — Apple blew past analyst estimates by a full 20 cents a share for its fiscal third quarter,” Caulfield reports. “The explanation for the weak guidance: higher component costs, back-to-school discounts and a mysterious ‘product transition’ will cause Apple earnings to come in lower than expected. Translation: Apple is going to shake up its product lineup.”
Caulfield reports, “Oppenheimer told investors to expect earnings to come in at only 65 cents a share for its current quarter, well below expectations of 82 cents a share. After Apple’s blowout quarter, at least one analyst wasn’t buying it. ‘You just guided to 66 cents and came up with 92 cents? Why should I believe it should be 65 cents when you’ve been so conservative?’ UBS’s Benjamin Reitzes asked Oppenheimer on a conference call after Apple announced its results.”
Caulfield reports, “Oppenheimer said, there will be a ‘product transition I can’t get into.’ Could that mean Apple is about to introduce some new products? If so, the possibilities include anything from a new version of the iPod music player to fresh versions of its hot-selling notebook computers. With Apple reporting surging sales of both its computers and music players, that would mean the company is about to go from one strength to another.”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Dave” for the heads up.]