Apple’s third quarter earnings report broke company records yet again, and it’s fourth quarter guidance beat analyst estimates by a long shot. The Mac and iPhone maker advised analysts during its Q3 earnings conference call that it is projecting US$18 billion in revenue for Q4, coming in $1 billion higher than Wall Street estimates, according to UBS analyst Maynard Um.
“Guidance was much stronger than expected as the revenue outlook of about $18 billion was uncharacteristically higher than Street estimates,” Mr. um said. “We believe Apple typically guides to a conservatively achievable target, making guidance all the more impressive.”
Apple also beat analyst estimates for its third quarter, too. The company reported $15.7 billion in revenue for the quarter with earnings of $3.25 billion and earnings per share of $3.51. Apple sold sold some 3.47 million Macs during the quarter, along with 8.4 million iPhones, 9.41 million iPods, and 3.27 million iPads.
“Apple reported EPS of $3.51, well ahead of our $3.01 estimate and the Street’s $3.11,” Mr. Um added.
Looking forward, Mr. Um is raising his fiscal 2010 revenue estimate from $60.373 billion up to $63.2 billion, and his EPS estimate is up from $13.55 billion to $14.5 billion. For fiscal 2011, Mr. Um is modeling $73.2 billion in revenue with $16.62 EPS.
Mr. Um is maintaining his “Buy” rating and $340 target price for Apple’s stock. Apple is currently trading in the pre-market at $263.27, up 11.38 (4.52%).