“This was tough quarter to call and none of the 47 Apple (AAPL) analysts we polled — 29 professionals and 18 amateurs — got everything right,” Philip Elmer-DeWitt reports for Fortune. “Or even close to right.”
“Wells Fargo’s Maynard Um, who came in first place on the top and bottom lines — having missed EPS by only a penny — came in 15th when his unit sales were factored in,” P.E.D. reports. “Aaron Rakers of Stifel Nicholaus, who came in first on all categories — having predicted better than anyone the fall-off in iPod sales — was 26th in the rankings for revenue and EPS.”
“There were plenty of bad calls. The Braeburn Group’s Ilari Scheinin overshot iPod unit sales by almost 100%. BTIG’s Walter Piecyk undershot gross margin by nearly 200 basis points,” P.E.D. reports. “And I don’t know what to say about the congenially bullish Nicolae Mihalache, who has come in last place in two of the last four quarters. He is not helping the independents’ cause. If he were a student in my class, I’d advise him to transfer out.”
47 Apple analysts ranked in the full article here.