Roundup of Analyst Expectations Ahead of Q3 2012 Earnings Call

Philip Elmer-Dewitt has put together his list of analyst expectations ahead of Apple's quarterly earnings report this afternoon. The list includes estimates from 68 analysts: 34 "independent" and 34 "institutional" who work for large investment houses or research organizations.

NewImage
As usual, the independents are much more bullish than the institutional analysts. The independent consensus expects earnings per share (EPS) of $12.31 on revenue of $41.49 billion. The institutional consensus is EPS of $10.33 on $37.21 billion in revenue. This is a 12% difference on revenue and a 19% difference on EPS.

Apple will announce its earnings for the third fiscal quarter of 2012 (second calendar quarter of 2012) and host a conference call regarding the release this afternoon at 5:00 PM Eastern / 2:00 PM Pacific. The earnings release itself typically comes in around 4:30 PM Eastern. MacRumors will have live coverage of the proceedings.

Last quarter the company earned $11.6 billion in profit on revenue of $39.2 billion. For the second fiscal quarter, Apple has issued guidance of $34 billion in revenue with profits of $8.68 per share. The company typically exceeds its guidance by a significant margin.

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Render Front Page Tech

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. iPhone 17 Pro's alleged design via Front Page Tech Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone...
iCloud General Feature Redux

iPhone Users Who Pay for iCloud Storage Receive a New Perk

Thursday March 20, 2025 12:01 am PDT by
If you pay for iCloud storage on your iPhone, Apple has a new perk for you, at no additional cost. The new perk is the ability to create invitations in the Apple Invites app for the iPhone, which launched in the App Store last month. In the Apple Invites app, iCloud+ subscribers can create invitations for any occasion, such as birthday parties, graduations, baby showers, and more. Anyone ...
Generic iOS 18

Apple Seeds iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 Release Candidate With Priority Notifications, Ambient Music and More

Monday March 24, 2025 10:07 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming a week after Apple released the fourth betas. iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software Update. With iOS 18.4, Apple is adding the Priority Notifications...
airpods max 2024 colors

Don't Buy Into Apple's Hype About AirPods Max Gaining Lossless Audio

Monday March 24, 2025 4:24 pm PDT by
Apple today announced that AirPods Max with a USB-C port will be gaining support for lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio with a firmware update next month, alongside the release of iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, and macOS 15.4. For context, audio files are typically compressed to keep file sizes smaller. There are lossy compression standards like MP3 and AAC (Advanced Audio Codec), which...
Generic iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Coming Soon With These New Features for Your iPhone

Tuesday March 25, 2025 6:45 am PDT by
Apple is expected to release iOS 18.4 to the general public as soon as next week, following more than a month of beta testing. Apple's website says some iOS 18.4 features will be released in "early April," so the update should be out as early as Tuesday, April 1. Apple this week seeded the iOS 18.4 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, barring the discovery of any...
iOS 18

Top 5 New Features Coming in iOS 18.4

Friday March 21, 2025 3:26 pm PDT by
We're not getting new Siri Apple Intelligence features in iOS 18.4 as expected, but the upcoming update does have quite a few new additions that will be worth upgrading for. We've rounded up the five best features to look forward to, and if you're not running the beta, you can expect to get access to these in early April. Priority Notifications If you have an iPhone or iPad that supports...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Iridescent Search

Foldable iPhone Expected to Launch Next Year, Costing Around $2,000

Monday March 24, 2025 3:43 am PDT by
Apple will launch its long-rumored foldable iPhone next year with a ~$2,000 premium price tag attached, expects well-connected Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman. Gurman's comments on Apple's launch plans for its first foldable device appeared in the Q&A section of his latest Power On newsletter. Earlier this month, the reporter said Apple's foldable iPhone could be arriving "as early as 2026,"...
ios 19 messages app

Here's What Apple's iOS 19 Messages App Might Look Like

Tuesday March 25, 2025 11:52 am PDT by
Leaker Jon Prosser today shared a mockup of what he says the Messages app will look like in iOS 19, demoing an interface with rounded, translucent bubble-shaped navigation buttons at the top and softer, rounder corners for the keyboard and word suggestions. Jon Prosser's Messages app mockup The return button, a button for going back to the Messages list, and the FaceTime button have a deeper...

Top Rated Comments

hobo.hopkins Avatar
165 months ago
I find it pretty hard to believe that the 13" MBP is the top volume model. You almost never see them, where as a lot of people have the 15". The 13" Air, on the other hand, is extremely popular.
My experience has been the exact opposite. I see almost exclusively 13" MacBook Pros at University settings.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cvaldes Avatar
165 months ago
LOL, ace (*cough cough*) ANAL-yst Huberty is lowballing this one, coming in at the bottom.
How does she still have a job?
Because technology media sites (MacRumors, AppleInsider, etc.) will post her lunatic babblings to generate pageviews.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cvaldes Avatar
165 months ago
I'm sticking to my guns (https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=14770679&posted=1#post14770679).

$12.35 EPS on $40.1B revenue

LOL, ace (*cough cough*) ANAL-yst Huberty is lowballing this one, coming in at the bottom.

:p
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BrownManUPS Avatar
165 months ago
Hope to hear about the ML release tomorrow.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Reason077 Avatar
165 months ago
Looks likely to be another blowout quarter from Apple.

The Mac numbers will be interesting, however. Will the Retina MacBook be enough to reverse the poor sales growth seen recently?
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cvaldes Avatar
165 months ago
But her company loses credibility. I'd never invest with Morgan Stanley or even recommend them because they refuse to fire someone like her. Oh well.
Morgan Stanley probably has hundreds of analysts covering all sorts of industries. The track record of one specific individual is irrelevant (except to anyone listening to that person).

Huberty is very consistent in her ineptitude, so one can use her predictions, not as what Apple will do, but as what Apple will not do.

She definitely is not a star-rated analyst, although that never stops MacRumors/AppleInsider/other sites from quoting her. Like I said, her nonsensical reports generate pageviews.

----------


Roundup of Customer Expectations After Q3 2012 Earnings Call
New Mini
New iMac
New TB Display
Apple generally announces new hardware products on Tuesdays, so it is unlikely that Apple will release these the day after an analyst conference call.

More likely would be the availability of OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion. Apple has already covered the features several times, including WWDC, so the arrival is a foregone conclusion. Apple released 10.7 Lion the day after their Q2FY2011 call, so it's a far more likely scenario.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)