Tuesday, October 12, 2004, 12:00 pm

Apple to release FY 04 fourth quarter results on Wednesday

By AppleInsider Staff

Strong sales of iPods, laptops and iMacs are expected to lead Apple's Q4 earnings.

Apple Computer on Wednesday will announce its fourth quarter results for the 2004 fiscal year. A conference call for analysts and investors will kick-off at 2:00 p.m. PDT/5:00 p.m. EDT. Full coverage of the event will be available at AppleInsider shortly thereafter.

The computer maker is expected to showcase a strong quarter backed by firm sales of laptops and better than expected shipments of its iPod digital music players and related products.

Sales of Apple's new iMac G5 may also garner some praise as the company reportedly saw an excess of 50,000 web orders placed at its online store in the four days following its introduction. Each order could potentially consist of more than one iMac G5, tipsters said.

Analysts who follow Apple are expecting the company to announce earnings of approximately 18 cents a share, but think the company could top these expectations by at least a penny.