Under promise, over deliver: That's generally been Apple's MO for both financial guidance and product releases. As of late, some analyst firms, including American Technology Research, were getting jittery about the Cupertino company's ability to live up to its lofty financial goals during the December quarter.
After doing his customary channel checks, ATR's Shaw Wu concludes that Apple, even with its ambitious holiday predictions, will once again beat its guidance for the quarter. According to Wu:
To back up this assertion, Wu cites robust iPod sales reports in his latest research note that indicate the devices are still tracking ahead of expectations, specifically with nanos and the iPod touches offsetting slower growth in shuffles and classics. This prompted an overall raise in Wu's iPod unit forecast from 24 to 25 million for the three-month period ending in December.
The analyst was also assuaged by the overall strength in Mac sales, which he says are being driven by Mac OS X Leopard and Windows turncoats. And while the iPhone is having some problems in Europe due to high pricing and customer service snags, Wu said those sales should be offset by better than expected strength in the U.S.
For the current December quarter, Wu now expects Apple to earn $1.63 per share on revenues of $9.4 billion, up from the firms prior expectation of $1.50 and $9.2 billion. Apple's own stated guidance falls in at $1.42 in per share earnings on sales of $9.2 billion.
Currently Apple shares are hovering around $178.
[Via AppleInsider]
Photo: Flickr/Jeff Henshaw
