Kasper JadeShares of Apple Inc. joined the broader technology sector in a brief free-fall early Tuesday morning as growing fears of a recession and slowing global economy weighed heavily on the Nasdaq stock market.
The latest skid comes just hours before the company will release results for its fiscal first quarter ended December. Analysts on average are expecting the gadget maker to report earnings of $1.62 per share on sales of $9.47 billion.
With rough iPhone sales figures having been disclosed at last week's Macworld Expo and NPD iPod estimates presumed to be fairly representative, much of Wall Street's attention is expected to zero in on Apple's Mac sales number.
On average, the Street is looking for record-setting Mac sales of 2.3 million units, which would best the company's existing record set last quarter of 2.164 million units.
Apple said in October it expects first quarter earnings of approximately $1.42 per share on revenues of $9.2 billion for the quarter.
Shaw Wu, an analyst with American Technology Research, believes those estimates will again prove conservative. He's modeling slightly above consensus estimates at per-share earnings of $1.63 on sales of $9.4 billion.
"As in previous quarters, we believe the gross margin will likely be the biggest swing factor in driving earnings-per-share upside or downside dependent on product mix and the ability to capitalize on favorable component pricing," he said.
Wu believes Apple will report quarterly gross margin of 33 percent, compared to the company's estimated 31 percent and the 31.2 percent reported for the year-ago quarter.
Looking ahead to the current quarter, the AmTech analyst believes Apple will continue with its conservative guidance "to help set more realistic expectations." He's currently modeling per-share earnings of $1.10 on sales $6.9 billion, noting that iPods have historically seen a seasonal decline during the quarter.
Apple will report earnings from its fiscal first quarter ended December following today's closing bell. AppleInsider will provide its usual in-depth coverage of the report and subsequent conference call.
Christine McKee
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68 Comments
Buy people buy!!!!
Buy people buy!!!!
Is there a good way to get a stock trading account in a timely manner? I don't do much by the way of investments outside of mutual funds in a 401k.
Is there a good way to get a stock trading account in a timely manner? I don't do much by the way of investments outside of mutual funds in a 401k.
You can set one up but you'll likely not be able to fund it in time.
Best,
K
It matters little what is said on the call - in its usual fashion Apple will refuse to answer questions. Just listen to COO Oppenheimer's past responses on these meaningless calls.
The bottom line is that any investor who doubled his money on AAPL in 2007 can do so again in 2008.
Only this time you have to sell the stock short. It's the economy, not the company, that's the issue.
Let's think why, for all those blinded Apple fanboys out there:
1 - The world is at the start of a multi-quarter recession
2 - Home equity lines of credit are tapped out
3 - People are losing jobs- not just blue collar and government jobs (PC buyers) but nice, clean jobs in finance and management (Mac buyers)
4 - No one needs another iPod or Mac when the priority is putting food on the table and gas in the SUV
But even if you deny all of the above, just name another $100bn public company with ZERO succession planning. Just one whiff of another cancer scare (God forbid) for Mr. Jobs, or maybe a fall on that new yacht of his, and say goodbye to the stock and the company. Shame really. They clearly make superior products. And any analyst worthy of the title should be asking about that, not about earnings per share projections.
BTW, we are a 100% Mac/iPod/iPhone/iDog (unannounced but coming soon) household. That doesn't make the stock a buy either.
It matters little what is said on the call - in its usual fashion Apple will refuse to answer questions. Just listen to COO Oppenheimer's past responses on these meaningless calls.
The bottom line is that any investor who doubled his money on AAPL in 2007 can do so again in 2008.
Only this time you have to sell the stock short. It's the economy, not the company, that's the issue.
Let's think why, for all those blinded Apple fanboys out there:
1 - The world is at the start of a multi-quarter recession
2 - Home equity lines of credit are tapped out
3 - People are losing jobs- not just blue collar and government jobs (PC buyers) but nice, clean jobs in finance and management (Mac buyers)
4 - No one needs another iPod or Mac when the priority is putting food on the table and gas in the SUV
But even if you deny all of the above, just name another $100bn public company with ZERO succession planning. Just one whiff of another cancer scare (God forbid) for Mr. Jobs, or maybe a fall on that new yacht of his, and say goodbye to the stock and the company. Shame really. They clearly make superior products. And any analyst worthy of the title should be asking about that, not about earnings per share projections.
BTW, we are a 100% Mac/iPod/iPhone/iDog (unannounced but coming soon) household. That doesn't make the stock a buy either.
I can't wait until Mel Gross rips you a new one.