Slash LaneInvestment banks Citigroup and RBC Capital Markets have both raised their outlook for Apple's second fiscal quarter, saying they expect the company to announce Wednesday revenues of more than $7 billion on sales of over 2 million Mac systems.
In a report to clients Monday, Citigroup analyst Rich Gardner raised his estimates for the three-month period ending March to per-share earnings of $1.23 on sales of $7 billion, up from $1.14 and $6.9 billion.
More importantly, however, the analyst said he's looking for the Cupertino-based company to report near record gross margin of 36.5 percent, driven largely by sharp reductions in the cost of solid-state memory components such as DRAM and NAND flash.
Gardner is modeling for 38 percent yearly Mac growth to 2.1 million systems, up from his previous estimate of 2.0 million, driven by upside from better than expected sales of Mac Pros and the new MacBook Air sub-notebook.
iPhone sales should come in at roughly 1.5 million units for the quarter, of which grey market sales will be a large contributor, he said. Meanwhile, the analyst is expecting iPod units to come in at 9.5 million, down from his previous estimate of an even 10 million units.
"iPod should struggle until the line is refreshed in [the third calendar quarter]," he wrote.
Gardner reiterated his Buy rating on Apple shares, which remains Citigroup's "Top 2008 Pick" with a 12-month price target of $212 per share.
RBC Capital Markets
Separately on Monday, RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky also issued upbeat pre-earnings report on Apple, saying he expects the company to report earnings of $1.11 per share on sales of $7.2 billion.
The analyst's checks and proprietary data have him modeling for 46 percent Mac growth to 2.2 million systems, a 5 percent decline in iPods to 10 million units, and iPhone sales of 1.8 million units.
More specifically, Abramsky said he expects the Mac maker to report sales of 1.3 million notebook systems, including 150,000 MacBook Airs. Meanwhile, iTunes revenue is estimated to rise 19 percent to $777 million, and Apple TV shipments are expected to have more than doubled during the quarter to approximately 200,000 units.
"Although economic slowdown remains a risk, Apple’s fundamentals remain healthy, and earnings power and cash flow remains strong," Abramsky wrote.
The analyst maintained his Outperform rating but raised his price target on the company's shares to $190 from $175.
Christine McKee
Stephen Silver
Charles Martin
Amber Neely
27 Comments
Looking good.
However, that recalcitrant Windows fanboy Rob Enderle is once again predicting the demise of Apple in his screed today. He has all sorts of "secret" knowledge that products vastly superior to Apple's offerings are on the verge of being released. Seems these products were developed specifically as Apple killers after the manufacturers finally realized that Apple does a lot of stuff right so it might time to copy those ideas once again.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/T...ple-62661.html
However, that recalcitrant Windows fanboy Rob Enderle is once again predicting the demise of Apple in his screed today. He has all sorts of "secret" knowledge that products vastly superior to Apple's offerings are on the verge of being released. Seems these products were developed specifically as Apple killers after the manufacturers finally realized that Apple does a lot of stuff right so it might time to copy those ideas once again.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/T...ple-62661.html
"I've seen some of the coming products that potentially will out-Apple Apple"
read: Someone else's future products will be better than Apple's current products.
Why not become innovative to beat Apple's future products rather than letting Apple lead the way?
"I've seen some of the coming products that potentially will out-Apple Apple"
read: Someone else's future products will be better than Apple's current products.
Why not become innovative to beat Apple's future products rather than letting Apple lead the way?
I would be in agreement if it weren't for the fact that we've read all this before over the years and those products never seem to quite make it to Apple killing status. By the time these secret products reach the market Apple will have already moved on to the next great innovation or market changing development. Apple always seems to be able to stay one step ahead of the competition. If you define success by market share then Apple is irrelevant but, as we all know, Apple is very relevant to several markets now and is the acknowledged innovator to be targeted and/or copied.
If these guys are in the ballpark, wouldn't that put iPhone sales so far at between 5.5 million and 5.8 million units worldwide?
That is impressive for a product that is expensive, available in only four countries, tied to expensive plans with sole carriers, and would have been available for less than 10 months!