Apple to report Q4 2017 earnings on Nov. 2, first glimpse at iPhone 8 sales expected

Apple on Monday announced it will reveal quarterly earnings for the fourth fiscal quarter of 2017 on on Nov. 2, with the forthcoming expected to include a slight boost from iPhone 8 and 8 Plus sales.

Announced in an update to Apple's Investor Relations webpage, the fiscal quarter four earnings report is expected to drop after the closing bell on Nov. 2, and will be followed by a conference call slated for 2 p.m. Pacific, 5 p.m. Eastern. Apple CEO Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri are expected to participate in the live stream, offering statistics, figures and commentary on the company's performance over the trailing three-month period.

For the fourth quarter, Apple is looking to maintain iPhone growth after a strong showing of 41 million unit sales in the quarter ending in June. The jump in iPhone sales helped fuel $45.4 billion in revenue, beating Wall Street expectations.

Apple needs to build on recent gains in smartphone performance following a string of quarterly growth declines. After seeing a boost in iPhone sales during the traditionally strong 2016 holiday shopping season, sales slumped in the second fiscal quarter of 2017.

Recent fluctuations could be alleviated, or nullified, by Apple's release of iPhone 8, which brings a number of incremental improvements to the flagship product, including the new A11 Bionic chip with in-house designed GPU, wireless charging and more. Launched at the end of September, early sales metrics could be included in the upcoming quarter's financials, though material impact from iPhone 8 — and more importantly the all-new iPhone X — is not expected until the first fiscal quarter of 2018.

Along with iPhone, services are anticipated to be a topic of discussion as the sector has been on fire over the past few quarters. Last quarter, services revenue was up 22 percent to hit a record $7.26 billion, the equivalent of a Fortune 100 company.

Apple is guiding for revenue between $49 billion and $52 billion with a gross margin between 37.5 percent and 38 percent for the fourth fiscal quarter of 2017. Operating expenses are expected to come in between $6.7 billion and $6.8 billion, up slightly on a sequential basis. The estimates suggest Apple will outperform on a year-over-year basis, while high-side estimates put the company ahead of its record-breaking performance in 2015.

AppleInsider will be covering the conference call live on Thursday, Nov. 2, starting at 2 p.m. Pacific, 5 p.m. Eastern.