Apple will announce its first - quarter net Tuesday afternoon . But whatever news the society reports on its performance during the holiday shopping season — and analyst are expecting another strong quarter — it ’s certain to be overshadowed by the news that come out of Apple on Monday .
That was when Steve Jobs revealed , via a memorandum to Apple employee , thathe would take a leave of absence from his daylight - to - twenty-four hour period CEO dutiesto focus on his health . It ’s the second health - related sabbatical since 2009 for Jobs , who has battled pancreatic cancer and get a liver transplant .
analyst on Apple ’s Tuesday good afternoon conference will in all probability pepper company executives with questions about Jobs ’s leave of absence , as they adjudicate to get more details on Monday ’s news . And Apple executives figure to be just as circumspect in what entropy they put up .
It ’s potential that Tuesday ’s group discussion call could fill in some details about Jobs ’s leave of absence . When he step back from his CEO duty two years ago , Jobs peg down a six - calendar month leave-taking ( render in June 2009 , as promised).Monday ’s announcement to Apple employeesincluded no return date , an omission analyst are certain to ask about during the doubt - and - answer portion of Tuesday ’s league call .
But if story is any denotation , Apple administrator are likely to value Jobs ’s request for concealment . In past conference calls — admit those during Jobs ’s last aesculapian leave — the company has declined to reply questions about his health , calling it a private matter .
While Job ’s condition physique to be on the idea of psychoanalyst during Tuesday ’s call , Apple will try on to keep the stress on its performance for the companionship ’s fiscal first quarter . That three - calendar month stop covers the vacation shopping season — an important time for Apple ’s business sector given the company ’s growing focus on consumer electronics .
psychoanalyst are see for the company to announce earnings of $ 5.38 a share on taxation of $ 24.38 billion , according tofigures compiled on Yahoo ’s finance web site . That would outpace the guidance Apple main financial ship’s officer Peter Oppenheimer duringApple ’s last psychoanalyst briefing . Apple told analysts to expect taxation of $ 23 billion and earnings per share of $ 4.80 , though the company ’s forecasts are notoriously materialistic .
top-hole last year ’s functioning for the fiscal first quarter would certainly be an telling feat . For the three - month period end December 29 , 2009 , the company tallied gross revenue of $ 15.68 billion and a net quarterly profit of $ 3.38 billion — both records at the metre . Year - agone net profit per share were $ 3.67 .
As with the 2010 financial fourth one-quarter , much of the spotlight for the 2011 first quarter numbers will shine on the iPad . Apple deal 4.19 million iPads during its fourth - tail — the first full quartern of sales for the pad — and analysts will be eager to see how that impulse carried over into the holiday shopping season , in particular with Apple expanding its iPad retail efforts to Verizon , AT&T , Target , and Walmart .
iPods will be a author of captivation , too , on Tuesday , but for entirely different reasonableness . Apple ’s music participant line , which still predominate the MP3 mart , no longer enjoys the skyrocket growth of half - a - decade ago ; in fact , class - over - year sales outgrowth has decline in late quarters . Still , the holiday season is the biggest quarter for iPod sales , as consumer snap up the equipment for gifts and stocking stuffers .
In the twelvemonth - agone holiday quarter , Apple sold 21 million iPods ( which was still a downslope of 8 percent from the 2009 financial first quarter ) . It will be interesting to see what impact theSeptember refreshes of the nano , shuffle , and touch modelswill have on the iPod ’s sales impulse . Apple will in all probability focus its care on the iPod touch , a model that ’s still enjoy potent sale while help to aim up the average sales Leontyne Price of the company ’s MP3 offering .
iPhone gross sales have helped fire Apple ’s carrying into action in recent quarters , a trend that is likely to bear on with Apple ’s first - stern Book of Numbers . During the fiscal fourth twenty-five percent , for instance , iPhone sales jumped 91 percent yr - over - year to 14.1 million earpiece . Analysts will require to see if holiday sales helped Apple improve upon the 8.7 million phones it sold over the same period last year .
Last calendar week ’s annunciation of aniPhone adequate to of execute on Verizon ’s networkwill likely inspire questions about what the end of Apple ’s exclusive musical arrangement with AT&T will mean for U.S. smartphone sales . analyst may also pick up on the word that Apple ’s arrangement with Verizon is not exclusive and ask whether aSprint press outcome scheduled for next monthcould tick the arrival of another CDMA - based iPhone . Given Apple ’s reluctance to talk about next products , executives will probably not be forthcoming about any iPhone prognostications .
As for Apple ’s still - thriving Mac business , analyst will await to see if the company beat last year ’s first after part sales mark of 3.36 million Macs — a record at the meter , but one that Apple later passed with the 3.89 million computers it sold during 2010 ’s 4th quarter .
The Mac App Store did n’t first appearance during the financial fourth quarter — it only opened its room access in January . But Apple executive may give some details about the stock ’s performance so far . The party has already reveal thatthe Mac App Store passed the 1 million download markjust 24 hours after its January 6 opening .
