Big profit bite expected from iPhone

Analysts are expecting strong growth for Apple in the reporting quarter. While not expected to be a major revenue source now, the Apple Watch has symbolic importance as the first new product category that Apple has launched since the 2011 death of co-founder and iconic CEO Steve Jobs.

Today the average of the 27 analysts, 14 professionals and 13 independents, is a bit under 4.1 million.

For the first time in many years, I feel that there is a few potential uncertainty in the results Apple will announce [on Tuesday].

The Apple Watch has garnered mixed reviews in the tech press, and Apple hasn’t yet said how many people have bought it so far. They think Apple sold 49.4 million iPhones in the quarter ended in June, compared with the 35.2 million iPhones it sold in the same period a year ago, as said by Fortune.

Apple shares dropped more than six percent to US$121.94 in after-market trades that followed release of the earnings figures. The research group Wristly surveyed 800 users for their just-released Apple Watch Customer Satisfaction report. He estimates other companies operated their smartphone business at a loss or broke even.

Updating with information from Apple’s conference call.

Last quarter, that “other” revenue totaled $1.7 billion, minus the watch, which hadn’t gone on sale yet. Microsoft also reports earnings Tuesday.

And in a sign of what else is to come, Apple is ordering record numbers of its next iPhone models, the Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month.

The suggested figures present a year-over-year rise in iPhone sales of 54 per cent, while Macs increased at 21.6 per cent.

Phone makers using Google’s Android operating system will see even slower growth of about 8.5 per cent. But IDC predicts iPhone sales will grow by 23 per cent this year. But success breeds expectations and Apple now faces higher bar to clear for its upcoming iPhone models, expected out later this fall.

However, Cantor Fitzgerald experts believe Apple Watch will be a “go-to gift” during the year-end holiday season and become the best selling new product in Apple’s history. Likewise, KGI’s report noted a decline on iPad sales by around 30 percent. That’s why, despite Tim Cook’s many statements describing Apple Watch sales as being “fantastic”, there most likely won’t be any factual support to his statement.