Apple starts each fiscal year with a bang. That’s because the first-quarter of a given fiscal year for Apple corresponds to a calendar year’s holiday quarter. Adding a bit of weight, for over about a decade now, the December-quarter marks the first full quarter of availability for the latest round of iPhones - 2020 being a notable exception. Phones were late that year, thanks to COVID-19 disruptions. Today’s call should be a big call, is the point. That’s when Apple will discuss earnings and such for the December-quarter. Apple Insider has laid out a few expectations. According to the piece, Wall Street is looking for Apple to report:
Revenue of $118.3 billion
Gross margins of 40.5%
Earnings-per-share of $1.89.
While it was the first full quarter of iPhone 13 sales, other hardware will likely get a shoutout. Last quarter was the first full quarter of availability for Apple Watch Series 7. It also saw the introduction of the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros, powered by Apple’s own M1 Pro and M1 Max.
Expect questions and answers regarding the supply chain. You might also listen for a number bigger than “six billion.” “Back in the September quarter,” says Apple Insider:
…Apple noted that it had missed out on $6 billion of revenue because of semiconductor constraints and supply chain problems. Heading into the December quarter, Apple advised that it expected those supply headwinds could have a larger impact.
As we heard from a couple of corners on Wednesday, how Apple did last quarter is less likely to drive Apple shares in the weeks ahead than will sentiment from Apple execs. As Creative Strategies CEO Ben Bajarin posted on Twitter about tech as a whole, “Many investors need to hear management’s confidence in 2022 in order to be confident themselves.”
Are We There Yet?
And now - we watch the clock and wait. Numbers will hit Apple’s site after the close of trading at 1:30 Pacific/4:30 Eastern. The call with Apple CEO Tim Cook, Apple CFO Luca Maestri, and analysts of all stripes starts at 2PM/5PM… that fruitcake nobody wanted to be served after.
You can stream it as it happens on Apple’s Investor site. The company will make it available as a podcast soon after. Bloggers will Blog. Twitters will tweet. And we will hit highlights here, on Friday.
