Apple Inc. (AAPL) : Q116 Earnings Whisper

All eyes will be on Apple Inc. (AAPL) after today’s close. Wall Street analysts are on average expecting the tech giant to post $77.1 billion in sales during the quarter. This would show a 49.71% increase from the Q415 revenue of $51.5 billion, and an increase of 3.35% from the same period in Q115. EPS in Q116 are expected to come in at $3.23, a growth rate of 5.56% from $3.06 per share a year earlier. Meanwhile, EarningsWhisper.com reports a whisper number of $3.40 per share.

As a quick reminder, Apple reported Q415 EPS of $1.96, $0.08 better than the Street’s consensus estimate. Revs increased 22.27% yoy to $51.5 billion vs. the $51.12 billion consensus.

Another important number analysts will be looking closely is that of iPhones sold during the holiday quarter. According to several reports, Cupertino has cut orders to its suppliers for phone components, indicating the company may not sell as many smartphones in early 2016 as originally anticipated. In the last six months, Apple’s shares have fallen nearly 20% over concerns about slowing iPhone demand. Still, some have said the dip in Apple’s stock is a buying opportunity. Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster said last week shares could jump more than 50% heading into the release of the iPhone 7 in September.

On valuation measures, Apple shares are priced at 10.93x this year’s forecasted earnings, compared to the industry’s 7.89x earnings multiple. The company’s current year and next year EPS growth estimates stand at 2.90% and 9.80%, respectively. AAPL has a t-12 price-to-sales ratio of 2.42. EPS for the same period registers at $9.22.

Apple shares have declined 5.51% in the last 4 weeks and 10.47% in the past three months. Over the past 5 trading sessions the stock has gained 1.91%. The $558.86 billion market cap company has a median Street price target of $140.00 with a high target of $200.

Apple is down 8.23% year-over-year, compared with a 7.51% loss in the S&P 500.

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