Can Apple Reach Its Earnings Targets?

By Paul Ausick Updated Apr 27, 6:22PM EDT · Published Sep 2, 2:30PM EDT

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With Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) posting a new 52-week high nearly every day, some of us wonder when (or even if) the rise will stop. Over the past five trading days the stock has posted a new all-time and 52-week high on three of them. The stock reached another new high on Tuesday morning.

The company says it has fixed the issue that permitted someone to obtain and publish piles of nude photos of several celebrities, so combined with the rising stock price and the end of the nude photo scandal, we might safely assume that all is on track in Cupertino.

Maybe so, but the current consensus estimate of earnings per share (EPS) for the fourth fiscal quarter ending in September is $1.29, which is down from $1.34 just 60 days ago. The full-year EPS estimate has remained flat at $6.33, and is up from $6.30, its level 90 days ago.

According to CNNMoney, the estimates of fourth-quarter EPS range from $1.20 to $1.41 and the full-year estimate range is $5.95 to $6.65. The consensus estimates are nearer the bottom than the top, so that may be a further indication of what analysts are expecting.

Perhaps the big question is whether the company will be able to boost its earnings on the back of the iPhone 6 introductions that everyone expects on next week. A lot depends on when the phone or phones are available to ship and how compelling Apple can make the new products. Most observers don’t expect an iWatch announcement, so the iPhone(s) will have to carry the day.

To maintain its overall iPhone profitability, the expected 4.7-inch iPhone 6 needs to be priced at the original price point of the iPhone 5s, and the expected 5.5-inch phone will have to be priced higher. New features like sapphire glass covers and NFC capability may be selling points, but are they compelling? Is there anything about the expected new iPhones that is so revolutionary/disruptive/compelling that it will drive sales to new heights of profitability? Does there even need to be?

ALSO READ: Apple Now Worth $100 Billion More than GE and Walmart Combined

About the Author Paul Ausick →

Paul Ausick has been writing for a673b.bigscoots-temp.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.

He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.