I have never been a big trader in Apple stock, it’s one of those names that I have never had luck with, meanwhile half of the planet has gotten rich owning the stock. However, I do use their products and have been a Macbook user for about four years ( I use my Dell for the blog and for trading)). I have always agreed with the pros who state that the iPod was the carrot to get people to buy Macs, and the iPhone to some degree as well. The earnings are Monday after the close. I don’t play earnings and I really don’t have a feel on this one. Here is a comment on the coming report from Gene Munster:
Gene Munster, analyst with Piper Jaffray, wrote in a note earlier today that the key to the quarter will be Mac sales: he sees 2.35 million units, which he says is ahead of the Street consensus of 2.2 million. He expects 10.5 million iPods for the quarter, versus the Street at 10.3 million. He puts iPhone units for the quarter at 730,000. If the company hits those numbers and turns in a gross margin of 33%, he says, Apple would post $7.67 billion in revenue and profits of $1.13, well above both the guidance and the Street.