Apple releases its fourth quarter earnings on Thursday with analysts looking for the tech heavyweight to report EPS of 0.71 cents a share and revenues of $64.2 billion.
The Apple share price has slumped from a September 2nd high near $138 and currently trades at $115. Wall Street expects a solid quarter from the company and this could kickstart a recovery in the stock. Apple has declined to share forward guidance in recent months due to the virus turmoil and analysts will be hoping for this to return, or to at least provide their own. The focus is on the upcoming 5G release and how that could boost Apple’s bottom line.
A recent iPhone release came too late to be included in this report and some analysts are already looking towards the December quarter for a clearer picture. Apple has been boosted by growth in services this year due to the work from home trend as the company saw sales increase for apps and also wearable technology as more people were forced to workout from home also. This should continue to support the company in Thursday’s release but the numbers are fairly modest because of the dominance that iPhone sales have on earnings.
Apple’s December 2019 earnings were around $90bn in revenues with an EPS of $1.20 so the company is still suffering from the downturn, although the tech industry is weathering the storm relatively well compared to other sectors.
The Apple share price (AAPL) has dipped under the uptrend support line in recent sessions and the stock is also trading under the 50-day moving average so the company needs a boost from this earnings report to get back on a bullish path. A close above the moving average near $118 would be enough to start the trend but caution is advised on the recent weakness and a disappointing release could see the stock head lower to the support just ahead of $100.
