Apple will hold its regularly scheduled fourth quarter earnings report on Tuesday, October 21, after the stock market closes. Analysts and investors will be paying close attention to the Mac and iPod makeris figures to see how the company has fared during the weakening U.S. economy.

Apple may be in a position to show healthy Mac sales despite the economic downturn. The company has been continuing to show an increase in computer sales even as its PC counterparts have been suffering from slowing sales.

Apple reported another round of record breaking numbers during its third quarter earnings conference call in July. The company sold some 2.49 million Macs, over 11 million iPods, and 717,000 iPhones during the quarter.

The low guidance Apple offered for its fourth quarter, however, came in below Wall Street expectations. Apple claimed that an upcoming "product transition" would have an impact on revenue, although American Technology Research analyst Shaw Wu expected that commodities inflation was also playing a part in the lower guidance.

Be sure to check in on October 21 for The Mac Observeris earnings report coverage.

[Thanks to setteB.IT for the heads up]

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