Expect Apple to Be Apple for Tuesday’s 4Q Earnings Report

As usual, investors bid up the shares of Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL ) ahead of its
earnings report, which will be released after the market closes Tuesday. The
stock price is up a sizzling 15% during the past five trading days. Even though
Steve Jobs usually did not participate in conference calls, there still will be
a void Tuesday. No doubt, CEO Tim Cook will talk about his legacy as well as the
go-forward strategy. Regarding the expectations for the quarter, Wall Street
analysts certainly are bullish though at least one had the courage to buck
groupthink on Monday and downgrade Apple from buy to hold. Still, the consensus
is for revenues to hit $29.45 billion up 44.8% from the same quarter in 2010.
Thats an amazing number, especially when compared to other tech giants like
Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT ), Intel (NASDAQ: INTC ) and Dell (NASDAQ: DELL ) and
relative youngster titan Google (NASDAQ: GOOG ). But its no anomaly in its
latest quarter, Apple posted a 33% increase in revenues from the year-ago
quarter. As for Apple's earnings, analysts are forecasting $7.24 per share,
but Apple could beat this after strong boosts in iPad and iPhone sales, which
have juicy margins. It looks like the death of Jobs which was followed by a
global outpouring of support and media exposure has further spurred sales for
Apple products. Of course, Apple doesnt need to rely on the sympathy vote.
Apples next big thing the iPhone 4S hit store shelves Oct. 14 and has tallied
4 million sales in that short time. And the iPhone 4S is getting standout
reviews, especially for its voice-activation technology, called Siri. Yet again,
it looks like Apple has redefined the way people use mobile technology.