Apple Earnings Preview: All Eyes on Next Quarter's Guidance Ahead of New iPhones, Apple Card, and Apple TV+
Apple is set to report its earnings results for the third quarter of its 2019 fiscal year at 1:30 p.m. Pacific Time today.
The quarter began March 31, 2019 and ran through June 29, 2019, according to Apple's fiscal year accounting calendar.
Apple's guidance for the quarter from April 30:
- revenue: $52.5 billion-$54.5 billion
- gross margin: 37-38 percent
- op. ex.: $8.7 billion-$8.8 billion
- other income/expense: $250 million
- tax rate: approximately 16.5 percent
Apple's guidance suggests it will report its second-best third quarter ever by revenue:
- 2014: $37.4 billion
- 2015: $49.6 billion
- 2016: $42.4 billion
- 2017: $45.4 billion
- 2018: $53.3 billion
- 2019: $52.5+ billion
Wall Street's revenue estimates average out to $53.39 billion, slightly below the midpoint of Apple's guidance, based on 33 analysts tracked by Yahoo Finance. Earnings per share is estimated to be $2.10.
Key Facts and What to Look For
- iPhone revenue of $26.5 billion, according to a Bloomberg average.
- Product launches in the third quarter: 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pro refresh on May 21 (excluding entry-level 13-inch model, which was updated in July) and seventh-generation iPod touch on May 28.
- Apple's guidance for its fourth fiscal quarter, which typically encompasses the launch of at least some new iPhone models in mid-to-late September. Wall Street expects fourth quarter revenue to be $61 billion, down around three percent year-over-year, according to Bloomberg.
- Apple's revenue in Greater China and any potential commentary regarding the U.S.-China trade war. Apple reported revenue of $9.5 billion in Greater China in the year-ago quarter, which was 19 percent growth.
- Apple's services revenue reached an all-time high of $11.45 billion in the second quarter, and investors will be looking for continued growth from the launch of Apple News+ six days before the third quarter began. The upcoming launches of the Apple Card later this summer and Apple Arcade and Apple TV+ in the fall could also be at least partially baked into Apple's fourth quarter guidance depending on exact launch dates.
- Apple's "Wearables, Home, and Accessories" category also remains key. Last quarter, Apple said the category was the size of a Fortune 200 company, buoyed by the success of the Apple Watch and AirPods.
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 highlight key points from the one-hour call as it occurs live.
Popular Stories
In an all-caps post on Truth Social today, U.S. President Donald Trump said Apple should fully end its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies.
Tim Cook meeting with President Trump in 2017
"APPLE SHOULD GET RID OF DEI RULES, NOT JUST MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO THEM," he wrote.
Trump's post comes one day after Apple held its annual shareholders meeting, during which a majority of...
In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 18.4 will be released in April.
From the Apple News+ Food announcement:Coming with iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 in April, Apple News+ subscribers will have access to Apple News+ Food, a new section that will feature tens of thousands of recipes — as well as stories about restaurants, healthy eating, kitchen essentials, and more — from the...
The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is expected to launch later this year, arriving two years after the previous model with a series of improvements.
While no noticeable design changes are expected for the third generation since the company tends to stick with the same Apple Watch design through three generations before changing it, there are a series of internal upgrades on the way.
By the time the ...
Apple is making significant headway on its long-rumored foldable iPhone, with a new report suggesting the company has achieved a major breakthrough by effectively eliminating the screen crease that plagues current foldable devices.
According to Korean publication ETNews, Apple is finalizing its component suppliers for the foldable iPhone, with the selection process expected to be completed...
Multiple iPhone owners today noticed a pronunciation processing issue that causes the word "Trump" to momentarily show up when using dictation to send a message with the word "racist."
In some cases, when speaking the word racist through the iPhone's built-in dictation feature, the iPhone briefly interprets the spoken word as "Trump" and "Trump" text shows up in the Messages app before being ...
According to a post on X today from a leaker known as Kosutami, Apple plans to launch AirPods Pro 3 in May or June this year.
The leaker also claimed that an AirTag 2 will launch around the same time.
Kosutami is best known as a collector of prototype Apple hardware, but they have occasionally shared accurate information about Apple's future product plans. For example, they accurately...
Apple plans to launch a second-generation AirTag in May or June this year, according to a post today from a leaker known as Kosutami.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman previously reported that a new AirTag would be released in mid-2025. May or June would align with that timeframe.
Below, we recap three new features rumored for the AirTag 2:
With a second-generation Ultra Wideband chip, the...
The first beta of iOS 18.4 is now available, and it includes a small but useful change for CarPlay.
As we noted in our list of iOS 18.4 features, CarPlay now shows a third row of icons, up from two rows previously. However, this change is only visible in vehicles with a larger center display. For example, a MacRumors Forums member noticed the change in a Toyota Tundra, which can be equipped...
