Ahead of Apple's earnings call this afternoon, two major publications have openly questioned whether investors will continue to stand by one of the most profitable companies in the world, with the perception that Wall Street may be losing its patience with the iPhone maker in the face of slowing growth.
With no major new products launched in the just-concluded March quarter, analysts on Wall Street don't expect big things from Apple when the company reports its earnings on Wednesday, generally projecting for revenue to be about flat with the same period from a year ago.
Apple is likely to see modest gains in iPhone sales in the medium term thanks to early smartphone upgrade programs from major U.S. wireless carriers, one analyst has projected.
A strong recommendation for Apple stock was pushed by investment firm Morgan Stanley on Thursday, which said now is the right time to invest due to low institutional ownership, resilient iPhone sales, and anticipated upcoming product launches.
A listing of Silicon Valley's top companies points out that Apple now brings in more revenue ($174 billion) than second place Hewlett Packard and third place Google combined, and earns more money ($37 billion) than the rest of the top five together.
Having downgraded its rating on Apple stock in January, Wells Fargo on Friday defended their neutral outlook for the company's near future, characterizing it as a long-term opportunity for investors that faces near-term hurdles while the industry transitions.
Apple is excluding itself from a $63 billion market opportunity, investment firm J.P. Morgan believes, by only partially competing in the sub-$1,000 portable computing market, which is why one analyst argues Apple should introduce a new notebook powered by a more full-featured version of iOS.
Sales data from some of Apple's biggest suppliers shows stronger than expected returns for the just-concluded month of March, potentially hinting that Apple itself could also surprise to the upside when it reports earnings later this month.
Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook took home $4.3 million in salary and incentives in 2013 and added another $69.6 million in vested stock options, continuing his reign as one of the highest-paid executives in Silicon Valley.
Though Apple had pledged to introduce new products "throughout 2014," it has yet to have a major launch this year. That's helped set the stage for expectations among bullish investors that the company is working on something big that could truly move the needle on Apple's stock price in the coming months.
The highlight of Apple's next quarterly earnings call later this month could be moderate increases to the company's share buyback program and dividend payouts to shareholders, many investors reportedly expect.
After the iPod, iPhone and iPad all proved to be "home run" products, the law of large numbers mean it's likely Apple's next new product category may only be a "single" or a "double" — and that's perfectly fine, in the eyes of one analyst.
Apple on Monday announced it will reveal quarterly earnings results for the second fiscal quarter of 2014 on Apr. 23, with the usual question and answer session to follow directly thereafter.
iTunes content and the App Store are projected to be key drivers of growth for Apple moving forward, with one new forecast calling for content and apps alone to account for 20 percent of profits by 2020.
With Apple making slight adjustments to its iPhone and iPad lineups this week, the new, cheaper device offerings are projected by one analyst to have only a minor effect on the company's bottom line.
Shares of Apple rose Tuesday morning after Pacific Crest upgraded its rating on the stock to "outperform," citing high expectations for the company's next iPhone, which the firm expects to sport a 4.7-inch display and $299 starting price tag.
According to a series of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings on Wednesday, Apple awarded top executive leadership nearly 36,000 restricted stock units each, which at current prices would net over $19 million.
The announcement that Apple Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer will retire later this year, making way for Luca Maestri to take over the position, was not surprising to investors on Wall Street, who generally responded with confidence on Tuesday.
Peter Oppenheimer, senior vice president and chief financial officer of Apple, will retire from the company at the end of September, after spending 18 years with the Mac maker, it was announced on Tuesday.
Apple is quietly investing far more money to acquire talent, technology and production capacity than the market appears to realize, having liberally outspent even Google over the past year.
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Neil Hughes
Daniel Eran Dilger
AppleInsider Staff
