LIVE: Here comes Apple's Q1 earnings
Apple will report its fiscal first quarter results after the markets close on Tuesday, but the report will likely be somewhat anticlimactic.
Tim Cook, the company's CEO, already warned investors and analysts earlier this month of disappointing results, saying that its revenue will likely be around $84 billion for the holiday period. Previously, the company had expected to post sales of between $89 billion and $93 billion.
Analysts and investors will be keen to hear at least one new detail that Apple will start releasing with this earnings report: the profitability of its services business, which Apple wants to grow into a $50 billion business by 2020.
Other questions Apple could answer in the report or on its subsequent call with analysts pertain to the health of its business in China and how its recent pricing promotions and trade-in discounts have affected sales of its latest phones.
Here's what analysts are now expecting the company to report on its top and bottom lines, and how those forecasts compare with its year-earlier results:
- Fiscal first-quarter (FQ1) revenue: $83.97 billion. In FQ1 2018, Apple posted $88.29 billion in sales.
- FQ1 earnings per share (EPS): $4.17. In FQ1 2018, the company earned $3.89 a share.
- Fiscal second-quarter (FQ2) revenue guidance: $58.97 billion. In FQ2 2018, Apple saw sales of $61.14 billion.
- FQ2 EPS guidance: $2.62. In FQ2 2018, the company earned $2.73 a share.
In midday trading, Apple's shares were off 19 cents, or less than 1%, to $156.11.