Apple Expected to Report Its Best Third Quarter Ever Today

aapl logo 2018Apple is set to report its earnings results for the third quarter of its 2018 fiscal year at 1:30 p.m. Pacific Time today.

The quarter began April 1, 2018 and ran through June 30, 2018, according to Apple's fiscal year accounting calendar.

Apple provided the following guidance for the quarter back on May 1:

  • revenue of $51.5 billion to $53.5 billion

  • gross margin between 38 and 38.5 percent

  • op. ex. of $7.7 billion to $7.8 billion

  • other income/expense of $400 million

  • tax rate of approximately 14.5 percent

Apple's guidance suggests it will report its best third quarter results ever, by revenue, comfortably topping its 2015 record of $49.6 billion:

  • 2014: $37.4 billion

  • 2015: $49.6 billion

  • 2016: $42.4 billion

  • 2017: $45.4 billion

  • 2018: $51.5+ billion

Wall Street analysts forecast that Apple will report $52.3 billion revenue, meeting roughly the midpoint of its guidance, and earnings per share of $2.18, according to 29 estimates averaged by Yahoo Finance.

Key Takeaways and What to Look For

  • iPhone unit sales of around 41.7 million, according to a FactSet estimate.

  • Apple doesn't break out iPhone sales on a model-by-model basis, but the iPhone's average selling price should reveal whether the iPhone X remains Apple's best selling iPhone model since it launched, or if sales have slowed. iPhone ASP was $728 last quarter. $606 in year-ago quarter.

  • iPad unit sales should be boosted by the new sixth-generation 9.7-inch iPad, released March 27, just four days before the third quarter.

  • Apple's guidance for its fourth quarter, which runs from July 1 through September 29, as new iPhones will likely be available to order during the final two weeks of the quarter. Analysts expect revenue of $59.5 billion, based on 29 estimates averaged by Yahoo Finance.

  • Apple's comments on the trade war between the United States and China, and what impact it could have on Apple products, if any.

  • Continued growth of Apple's Services category, including the App Store, Apple Music, iCloud, iTunes, Apple Pay, and AppleCare. Loup Ventures expects Services growth of 19 percent on a year-over-year basis.

  • Continued growth of Apple's Other Products category, including the Apple Watch, Apple TV, HomePod, AirPods, Beats, iPod touch, and accessories, as Apple diversifies revenue beyond the iPhone.

Apple's CEO Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri will discuss the company's earnings results on a conference call at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time today. MacRumors will loosely transcribe the one-hour call as it occurs live.

Tags: AAPL, Earnings

Top Rated Comments

now i see it Avatar
74 months ago
As Apple's wealth increases, the Mac user experience goes down the toilet. Funny how that works.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
OldSchoolMacGuy Avatar
74 months ago
Apple is doomed. Fire Tim Cook. /s
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
arkitect Avatar
74 months ago
As Apple's wealth increases, the Mac user experience goes down the toilet. Funny how that works.
So true.

Look, I want Apple to be successful. But this level of success tends to make a company (or a person) complacent… and that is where I find myself at odds with Apple.

A huge multi billion (trillion?) company resting on its laurels… in this case the success of the iPhone.

I yearn for the Apple with iCEO Jobs at the helm. Kicking arse and reinventing themselves. Great products and leading the way…

*shrug*
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
I7guy Avatar
74 months ago
Here come the stockholders with their doomed sarcasm rubbish.

Great for you and the execs who already don’t need more millions, but at best, utterly meaningless to consumers. At worst, it emboldens Apple to keep up with the gouging, which is clearly detrimental to the consumer.
I didn’t think Apple was forcing you to buy their products. There are “great” android phones available for half the price.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
OldSchoolMacGuy Avatar
74 months ago
Well, I can tell you that I deleted my FB account as soon as that Cambridge Analytica shenannagin became public
Good for you. The numbers show that very very few did. Like less than 100,000. It wasn't nearly as big of a deal (from that standpoint) as people made it out to be. #DeleteFacebook was a huge failure.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
travelsheep Avatar
74 months ago
€1200 for a phone, €3000 for a entry level MacBook Pro, €100 for the yearly developer license, keeping a 30 % cut on every app sale ... no surprises here
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

reset password request iphone

Warning: Apple Users Targeted in Phishing Attack Involving Rapid Password Reset Requests

Tuesday March 26, 2024 4:34 pm PDT by
Phishing attacks taking advantage of Apple's password reset feature have become increasingly common, according to a report from KrebsOnSecurity. Multiple Apple users have been targeted in an attack that bombards them with an endless stream of notifications or multi-factor authentication (MFA) messages in an attempt to cause panic so they'll respond favorably to social engineering. An...
maxresdefault

Apple to Launch New iPad Pro and iPad Air Models in May

Thursday March 28, 2024 11:07 am PDT by
Apple will introduce new iPad Pro and iPad Air models in early May, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman previously suggested the new iPads would come out in March, and then April, but the timeline has been pushed back once again. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Apple is working on updates to both the iPad Pro and iPad Air models. The iPad Pro models will...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Purple

iOS 18: What to Expect From 'Biggest' Update in iPhone's History

Wednesday March 27, 2024 11:10 am PDT by
At least some Apple software engineers continue to believe that iOS 18 will be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Below, we recap rumored features and changes for the iPhone. "The iOS 18 update is expected to be the most ambitious overhaul of the iPhone's software in its history, according to people working on the upgrade," wrote Gurman, in a r...
maxresdefault

Apple Announces WWDC 2024 Event for June 10 to 14

Tuesday March 26, 2024 10:02 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its 35th annual Worldwide Developers Conference is set to take place from Monday, June 10 to Friday, June 14. As with WWDC events since 2020, WWDC 2024 will be an online event that is open to all developers at no cost. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. WWDC 2024 will include online sessions and labs so that developers can learn about new...
apple maps 3d feature

Apple Maps May Gain Custom Routes With iOS 18

Tuesday March 26, 2024 3:10 pm PDT by
Apple may be planning to add support for "custom routes" in Apple Maps in iOS 18, according to code reviewed by MacRumors. Apple Maps does not currently offer a way to input self-selected routes, with Maps users limited to Apple's pre-selected options, but that may change in iOS 18. Apple has pushed an iOS 18 file to its maps backend labeled "CustomRouteCreation." While not much is revealed...
General iOS 17 Feature Orange Purple

Apple Releases Revised Versions of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 With Updated Build Number

Wednesday March 27, 2024 5:59 am PDT by
Apple on late Tuesday released revised versions of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 with an updated build number of 21E237, according to MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris. The updates previously had a build number of 21E236. The revised updates are available for all iPhone and iPad models that are compatible with iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, but they can only be installed via the Finder app on macOS...
applephilschiller

Apple's Phil Schiller Works 80 Hours a Week Overseeing App Store

Wednesday March 27, 2024 2:03 pm PDT by
With the App Store and app ecosystem undergoing major changes in the European Union, The Wall Street Journal today shared a profile on App Store chief Phil Schiller, who is responsible for the App Store. Though Schiller transitioned from marketing chief to "Apple Fellow" in 2020 to take a step back from Apple and spend more time on personal projects and friends, he is reportedly working...