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The quarter began December 31, 2017 and ended March 31, 2018, according to Apple’s fiscal year accounting calendar.
Apple provided the following guidance for the quarter back on February 1:
- revenue between $60 billion and $62 billion
- gross margin between 38 and 38.5 percent
- operating expenses between $7.6 billion and $7.7 billion
- other income/expense of $300 million
- tax rate of approximately 15 percent
Apple’s guidance suggests the company will report its best second quarter results ever, topping its previous record of $58 billion:
Wall Street analysts forecast that Apple will report $60.9 billion revenue, meeting roughly the midpoint of its guidance, and earnings per share of $2.69, according to over 30 estimates averaged by Yahoo Finance.
MacRumors has compiled second quarter revenue and EPS estimates from a handful of Apple-focused analysts:
Key Takeaways and What to Look For
- Apple is expected to report iPhone unit sales of 51.9 million, a roughly two percent increase over 50.8 million in the year-ago quarter, according to average analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
- Apple doesn’t break out iPhone sales on a model-by-model basis, but the iPhone’s average selling price should reveal whether there’s any truth to reports that iPhone X sales have slowed significantly. iPhone ASP was $796 last quarter, up from $695 a year earlier.
- Of increasing importance is continued growth of Apple’s services category, including the App Store, Apple Music, iCloud, iTunes, Apple Pay, and AppleCare. The average analyst estimate is around $8.3 billion, according to Gene Munster, up from $7.04 billion in the year-ago quarter.
- With increasing competition from Huawei, Vivo, and Oppo, Apple’s performance in Greater China will be a focus. Apple reported revenue of $10.4 billion in the region in the year-ago quarter.
- Apple said it would provide an update on its capital return program during today’s conference call, and many analysts expect significant increases, given the company’s plans to repatriate an estimated $250+ billion in overseas cash under new tax laws in the United States.
- Apple’s third quarter guidance will set expectations for April-June, which has historically been the slowest period of the company’s fiscal year. The average revenue estimate is currently $52.04 billion, according to Yahoo Finance, which would top $45.4 billion in the year-ago quarter.
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 happens.
