Apple
is the next big-technology company to report its earnings. Expect a strong showing on steady iPhone demand, according to Wedbush’s Daniel Ives.
Apple’s
(ticker: AAPL) iPhone revenue should be at least in-line with expectations when it issues its second-quarter report on Thursday, with Chinese demand fueling sales, according to Ives. Consensus forecasts are for Apple to report $92.91 billion in revenue for the March quarter with $48.8 billion coming from iPhone sales, according to a FactSet poll of analysts’ estimates.
“We believe iPhone units […] could show some upside despite the shaky macro as higher ASPs [average selling prices] and overall upgrade activity on iPhone Pro 14 carry the day,” Ives wrote in a research note on Monday.
Wedbush reiterated its Outperform rating and $205 target price on Apple stock. Apple shares were down 0.4% to $169.09.
While earnings beats from
Microsoft
(MSFT) and Google-parent
Alphabet
(GOOGL) cheered tech investors last week, a warning from
Amazon.com
(AMZN) over cautious consumer spending and slowing cloud-computing growth darkened the mood. Apple’s sentiment on global consumer spending will be key.
Wedbush calculates the average selling price of an iPhone is rising toward the $900-$925 range and Apple is gaining market share in China, while holding steady in the U.S. and Europe. However, Ives expects Apple to downplay prospects for the current quarter, with the potential launch of the iPhone 15 later this year.
“We would expect relatively conservative June guidance as this is all about the drumroll to the main event with the anniversary iPhone 15 launch slated for the September timeframe,” Ives wrote.
Ives isn’t the only analyst flagging potentially more downbeat guidance for the June quarter. Analysts at
Bank of America
said they expect Apple will suffer a 1% revenue fall from the prior year for its fiscal third quarter, putting quarterly revenue at $81.7 billion against Wall Street consensus expectations of $84.4 billion.
However, Bank of America still raised its target price on Apple stock to $173 from $168 while reiterating a Neutral rating, saying the change reflected a higher market multiple being attributed to the iPhone maker’s shares.
Write to Adam Clark at adam.clark@barrons.com
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