Apple can still deliver an earnings surprise

“‘Rising [AAPL] street estimates particularly for the iPhone,’ wrote Hudson Square’s Daniel Ernst two weeks ago, ‘sets a high bar for a beat,'” Philip Elmer-DeWitt reports for Fortune.

But, look at “the percentage difference between the estimates we’ve gathered from more than 50 analysts — professional and independent — in seven categories: revenues, earnings, gross margin and unit sales of iPhones, iPods, iPads and Macs,” P.E.D. reports. “That 18% gap in the EPS estimates is almost as wide as last quarter’s, and that was the widest we’d ever seen.”

P.E.D. reports, “The 18% gap between the Street’s estimates and the independents’ suggests that” Apple can still deliver an earnings surprise.

Read more in the full article, including a detailed spreadsheet of the individual analysts’ estimates for Apple, here.

MacDailyNews Note: Apple is set to report earnings after the closing bell, right round 4:40pm Eastern. As usual, MacDailyNews will have the numbers as soon as they are available and we’ll cover the conference call with live notes beginning at 5pm Eastern.

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Arline M.” for the heads up.]

Related articles:
Analyst: Street’s expectations for Apple getting carried away – January 10, 2012
Hudson Square ups Apple estimates ahead of Apple’s January 24th earnings call – January 9, 2012
Needham ups Apple estimates on ‘iPhone blow out’ – January 9, 2012
Goldman Sachs hikes Apple estimates, expects monster quarter – January 9, 2012
Apple to webcast Q112 earnings release conference call on January 24 – January 4, 2012

12 Comments

    1. Do you really believe that Apple is going to surprise in earnings as high as the “whisper numbers” are going? I wouldn’t believe it for a second. I’m telling you that Wall Street is going to dissect Apple and find every weak spot and the share price will barely move or go down. Wall Street doesn’t want Apple’s share price to climb and drive the market cap higher than ExxonMobil’s market cap.

      Look for Apple to heavily cut guidance on the next quarter and investors are going to sell off their stock like a hot potato. Apple has absolutely no interest in playing games with Wall Street or shareholders. Shareholders are going to be left high and dry. This continually happens every quarter, but it seems like everyone forgets or is just so caught up in the frenzy that they really don’t think clearly.

      Apple is clearly not to be trusted on earnings and no matter how many iPhones they sell or how much revenue they make, it will not be enough to raise the share price to any great degree. “Blowout” has a meaning used for both good and bad results.

      1. Apple is “clearly not to be trusted on earnings”? What have you been smoking, they are the most conservative of any company out there. Cover your shorts and good profits to everyone else.

        1. Apple is “clearly not to be trusted on earnings”?

          I think what Apple Turnover meant is that Wall Street does not believe that Apple’s growth would be sustainable however big its earnings show. Am I right that was your contention, Apple Turnover?

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