Analysts Predict Strong Quarter for Apple

Next Wednesday Apple is going to be announcing the results of its September quarter. Analysts are predicting that it is very likely for Apple to report results at the upper end, if not in excess of its guidance of $4.5 to $4.6 billion in revenue and 46 cents to 48 cents earnings-per-share.

"We are modeling continued strength in its Mac business (up 6 percent Q/Q to 1.4 million units) driven by MacBook and a rebound in its iPod business (up 5 percent Q/Q to 8.5 million units) helped by new nanos and initial shipments of its new shuffle," American Technology Research analyst Shaw Wu wrote in a note to investors.

It is believed that Apple's guidance for the upcoming quarter will once again be conservative, the company setting reasonable expectations that it can meet and probably exceed. "For revenue, we believe Apple will likely guide to $5.7 - 6.1 billion (we are at the upper-end at $6.0 billion), up 25-31 percent Q/Q, fueled by continued Mac strength and a continued strong rebound in its iPod business," Wu wrote. "As usual, we find consensus out-quarter revenue estimates unreasonably aggressive -- this time at $6.5 billion."

In his note to investors, the analysts also predicted that there may be a "soft reset" in Apple's share price during the December quarter.