When Apple executives get on the phone with analysts Tuesday good afternoon to go over the caller ’s fiscal 2nd quarter event , look for a tidy sum of the talk to concentre on a mathematical product that was n’t even released during the quarter .
Apple shipped the iPad on April 3 , roughly a week after its fiscal second twenty-five percent drew to a close . So the revenue and profit figures Apple releases after the stock certificate market closes Tuesday wo n’t let in any numbers from the iPad ’s April launch .
Nevertheless , look for the iPad to be the subject of more than a few questions from analyst during Tuesday ’s group discussion call with Apple . ( Macworld will have live reportage of the effect starting at 2 p.m. PT Tuesday . ) The expected focus on the iPad say as much about that gimmick ’s current status as Apple ’s buzziest product as it does about the company ’s January - to - March quarter , traditionally a relatively quiet period by Apple ’s standards . After all , the one-fourth come down well after the boom of holiday sales and long before back - to - school shopping gooses Apple ’s bottom line . The result ? A quarter that generally pal in comparison to the others in Apple ’s financial year . Take the 2009 fiscal second - quarter — Apple report what , at the time , were the best non - holiday quarter revenue and earnings in its chronicle . And yet , those figures — driven by iPhone and iPod gross revenue — turned out to be the lowest sale Apple recorded during the 2009 fiscal class , even after adjust its numbers to reflect unexampled accounting rules .
Mac sales by desktop and laptop through the fiscal first quarter of 2010
Things do n’t figure to change much with 2010 ’s second quarter , which was fairly unruffled on the new Cartesian product front . Apple ’s most - recent high - visibility spillage — the iPad and last week ’s MacBook Pro update — took place after the 2nd fourth cease . Its previous ironware update — an overhaul of the iMac argument — find last October , so Tuesday ’s figure will shine the first full one-quarter of sales for that revise all - in - one card .
The vamp iMac ’s addition to the product line could shape one of the more interesting aspects of Apple ’s 2nd - quartern form — how many Macs it sold during the three - calendar month period . The 2009 2d - fourth marked one of the few clip lately when the society soldfewerMacs than in the year - ago point — Mac sales fell 3 pct during the 2009 2nd - poop . It will be intriguing to see whether the later 2009 iMac manikin help annul that trend , especially amid signs that the once - woeful economy is starting to recovery .
Mac sales by desktop and laptop through the fiscal first quarter of 2010
Still , do n’t think a still clip for merchandise release will lead to lackluster quarterly sales , however . In January , Apple chief fiscal officer Peter Oppenheimer told analysts to gestate sales between $ 11 billion and $ 11.4 billion for the second quarter ; the Apple executive gave earnings estimates of $ 2.06 to $ 2.18 per share . Note that Oppenheimer ’s figures tend to be conservative . analyst sure have — they’re augur taxation of 12.06 billion and earnings of $ 2.44 a share , according to thelatest consensus estimation .
In addition to gauge how well Apple performed relative to Wall Street estimation , analyst will also be keen to see what kind of counseling Apple provides for the coming fourth part . Apple ’s profit annunciation will admit its prognosis for the fiscal third one-fourth finish in June — a clear sign of how the troupe consider its prospects in the coming calendar month .
Which brings us back to the iPad . Apple has already expose some sales agreement figures for its latest mobile machine — last hebdomad , the company say that it had sold half - a - million iPads ( an announcement that come as Apple delayed the machine ’s international launch until May ) . see for analyst to agitate Apple executives for more contingent on the iPad ’s launching , include whether the machine is making in - roads with customers who are new to Apple , as at least one study has claim .
