Citigroup Bumps Up AAPL Earnings Estimate

· by · Apple Stock Watch

Citigroup analyst Richard Gardner is expecting Apple will report even better than expected earnings during its quarterly investor conference call this Wednesday and is raising his estimates accordingly. He now expects Apple will report US$7 billion in quarterly earnings, above the Street consensus of $6.95 billion, according to Notable Calls.

Mr. Gardner is predicting Apple will report Mac shipments at 2.1 million units, up 38 percent year over year, and that those numbers will be driven by Mac Pro and MacBook Air sales.

iPod shipment estimates, however, are down at 9.5 million units from analyst earlier estimates of 10 million. Citigroupis iPod estimates come in well below the 10.5 million industry consensus. According to Mr. Gardner, iPod sales will likely remain flat until Apple refreshes the product line -- a move he expects will come in Appleis third quarter.

iPhone sales will likely come in at 1.5 million units despite the rumors that a 3G model is due within weeks.

Mr. Gardner estimates that Apple will report $7 billion in revenue with an EPS at $1.23, up from his earlier estimate of $1.14 and well above the $1.06 consensus. He is maintaining his "Buy" rating and $212 target price for Apple stock.

Apple is currently trading at $162, up 0.96 (0.60%).

<!--#include virtual="/includes/newsite/series/stockwatch.shtml"-->
Jeff Gamet

Jeff Gamet

Jeff is the Mac Observer's Managing Editor, and co-host of the Apple Context Machine podcast. He is the author of "The Designer's Guide to Mac OS X" from Peachpit Press, and writes for several design-related publications. Jeff has presented at events such as Macworld Expo, the RSA Conference, and the Mac Computer Expo. In all his spare time, he also co-hosts the We Have Communicators podcast, and makes guest appearances on several other podcasts, too. Jeff dreams in HD.

Sign Up for the Newsletter

Enter a valid email address

Join the TMO Express Daily Newsletter to get the latest Mac headlines in your e-mail every weekday.

Adding to list…

No Comments

Add your comment

Commenting is not available in this channel entry.