Apple to report fiscal Q2 2018 earnings on May 1

Apple will reveal quarterly earnings for its second fiscal quarter of 2018 on May 1, the company said on Monday, offering further insight on iPhone sales performance after what Wall Street called a lackluster holiday quarter.

Announced in an update to its Investor Relations webpage, the forthcoming report and following conference call will be held on Tuesday, May 1 at 2 p.m. Pacific, 5 p.m. Eastern. Apple CEO Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri are anticipated to provide detail on the March quarter's performance and field questions from investment analysts.

Apple posted a record-breaking $88.3 billion in revenue for the trailing quarter, though iPhone sales were down 1.2 percent year-over-year, prompting some on Wall Street to brand the three-month period as mediocre. Buoying the slowdown in handset shipments was the product's average selling price, which reached an all-time high of about $796.42 thanks to a mix of more expensive iPhone X models.

The company is looking to maintain sales of its flagship device after seeing the first signs of contraction in 2016.

Responding to concerns that iPhone X's high price tag is scaring away customers, Cook during last quarter's call said the flagship was Apple's bestselling iPhone every week since it shipped in November. Whether that remained true after the holiday shopping season remains to be seen.

Despite weaker than expected iPhone sales, Apple stock has performed relatively well, closing at a new high of $179.98 last month. Helping to drive that rally was Berkshire Hathaway's Warren Buffett, who at the end of February revealed an increase in AAPL stake, saying the Cupertino company's stock is the fund's largest holding.

Apple is forecasting revenue between $60 billion and $62 billion, with gross margins between 38 percent and 38.5 percent.

AppleInsider will offer full coverage of the earnings reveal on Tuesday, May 1, starting at 2 p.m. Pacific, 5 p.m. Eastern.