What to expect from Apple's third quarter 2023 earnings report

The call itself, hosted by CEO Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri, will take place on August 3, 2023, and will discuss the earnings release that hits the wires at 4:30 PM ET. According to the Apple investor page, the call will start at 5:00 PM ET.

Along with the overall financial health of Apple itself from the previous three months, Cook and Maestri are expected to offer at least some forward-looking guidance for the quarter and year ahead.

Apple is expected by analyst consensus to report $1.19 in earnings per share, with $81.7 billion in sales. Released during the quarter were the M2 MacBook Air 15-inch, new Mac Studio, and new Mac Pro.

Apple's biggest sales driver is the MacBook Pro. The Mac Studio and Mac Pro will contribute to the bottom line, but previous models haven't been more than a blip in earnings, lost in the larger values of services and iPhone sales.

For the previous quarter, Apple disclosed that it earned a total revenue of $94.3 billion for the quarter ending in March 2023. The year-ago quarter delivered $83 billion in revenue.

And, notably, Apple hit $3 trillion in valuation in the quarter. That won't specifically weigh into the earnings, but it is a figure of note, and Cook or Maestri are expected to chime in on that.

What to expect for Apple's third fiscal quarter

Apple didn't give specific revenue guidance, as has been typical for the last three years. But Apple did give some color about what to expect in broad strokes.

During the second quarter earnings call, Maestri provided some forward-looking guidance about Q3. Revenue is expected to trend similarly YoY to Q2 as long as the macroeconomic outlook doesn't worsen.

Foreign exchange is predicted to continue to be a headwind at 400 basis points. Although, Maestri believes services should grow similarly to the March quarter, even with advertising and gaming headwinds.

Maestri said that the gross margin for the third quarter is estimated at 44% to 44.5%, and operating costs will range from $13.6 billion to $13.8 billion. Maestri also said that the strength of the Gross Margin can be attributed to a flat foreign exchange rate, which helps.