Apple did not provide guidance for the December quarter, which adds an element of volatility to the report. Shares of the iPhone maker have soared, leading to a record market capitalization.
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With two days to go before Apple reports December quarter results, the Street’s push to raises estimates and price targets has reached a fever pitch, and the stock set a new intraday high.
Apple (ticker: AAPL) did not provide guidance for the quarter, which adds an element of volatility to the report. The Wall Street analyst consensus calls for revenue of $102.8 billion and per-share profits of $1.40; for the seasonally softer March quarter, the Street sees $78.9 billion in revenue and profits of 90 cents a share.
Street consensus estimates as tracked by FactSet call for iPhone revenue to rise 6.4%, to $59.6 billion, with double-digit growth in all other categories. The consensus has iPads sales at $7.4 billion, up 23.4%; Mac sales of $8.6 billion, up 20.4%; wearable sales of $11.5 billion, up 14.8%; and services revenue of $15.2 billion, up 19.3%.
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Here’s a rundown on Monday’s batch of pre-earnings Apple notes:
- Raymond James analyst Chris Caso repeated his Outperform rating, lifting his price target to $150 from $140. “For December, we believe iPhone units were simply in-line with expectations, but the story is about mix, as consumers appear to have preferred the higher-priced models in the lineup, perhaps encouraged by generous U.S. carrier subsidies,” he writes. “We also expect healthy upside from AirPods, Watch, and Macs, for which we’ve seen consistent positive supply-chain revisions.” He adds that while the stock has had a big run, “we see no reason to change our favorable view, as we have long expected the 5G iPhone to represent a two-year cycle.”
- Wedbush analyst Dan Ives reiterates his Outperform rating, while lifting his target price to $175 from $160. “Based on our Asia supply chain checks, we strongly believe the iPhone 12 supercycle hype has become a reality with this week giving the Street its first glimpse of underlying iPhone 12 demand and key commentary from [CEO Tim] Cook looking ahead into the next few quarters,” he writes in a research report. “With more order activity kicking in over the last few months for iPhone 12 our reads are very bullish for the March/June quarters and give us incremental confidence in our supercycle thesis on iPhone 12.”
- Evercore ISI analyst Amit Daryanani reiterated an Outperform rating, raising his price target to $160 from $145. The analyst writes that near term, he has a “bullish bias,” driven by an iPhone supercycle, better monetization of the installed base, and gross-margin expansion. Longer term, he is upbeat about a potential move into the automotive market. “Discussions around Apple Car have become louder given recent commentary in the media and comments by [manufacturers] like Hyundai,” he writes. “We see increased probability that Apple will have a product here in the next five years.”
- J.P. Morgan analyst Samik Chatterjee, who repeats an Overweight rating and $150 price target, expects the company to deliver a “blockbuster beat,” driven by 5G iPhones, iPads, and Macs. He’s looking for revenue of $110 billion and profits of $1.56 a share, with iPhone revenue of $66 billion.
- UBS analyst David Vogt maintains a Neutral rating on Apple stock, with a price target of $115. Vogt is more cautious on the stock than many other analysts, but he nonetheless lifted his revenue and EPS estimates for the quarter. He sees revenue of $106.9 billion, and profits of $1.45 a share. He sees upside to Street estimates on both iPhones and Macs, but contends that the upside is likely reflected in the stock.
On Monday, Apple has spiked 3.8%, to $144.37, slightly off a record high of $145.09, and giving the company a new peak market capitalization of $2.4 trillion.
Write to Eric J. Savitz at [email protected]
