Apple to Announce Q1 2009 Earnings Today

Apple announced (officially) this week that its Q1 2009 financial results conference call would be held at 2 PM PT (5 PM ET) on Wednesday, January 21. That's today!

Analysts are on the lookout for Apple to report fiscal first-quarter results today, for once because it's their job, but also to draw a better picture of the company's future, with rumors of Jobs not feeling well continuing to spur.

9to5Mac points out to analysts Piper Jaffay's Gene Munster and Bernstein Research’s Toni Sacconaghi who claim the following figures for Apple's Q1 2009:

Mac sales - Munster: 2.5 million to 2.6 million; Sacconaghi: 2.57 million
iPod sales - Munster: 18.6 million; Sacconaghi: 18.1 million
iPhone sales - Munster: 6.4 million; Sacconaghi: 3.5 million to 4 million.

While most analysts are not as confident that Apple's shares will reach a price target higher than $140 this year, Munster retains his $235 estimates for 2009. Whatever ace Munster believes Apple has got up its sleeve, it's certainly intriguing to see that the analyst hasn't lowered his expectations, despite all negative factors – economic downturn, Jobs' health, less consumer spending, etc.

According to Apple, “The conference call will be available as a continuous rebroadcast beginning Wednesday, January 21 at 5:00 p.m. PST/8:00 p.m. EST through Wednesday, February 4 at 5:00 p.m. PST/8:00 p.m. EST. The dial-in number for the rebroadcast is (888) 203-1112 (toll-free), or (719) 457-0820.” The confirmation code is 4939950, for interested parties. Apple is also providing live audio streaming of its FY 09 First Quarter Results Conference Call. Listeners will need to have at least QuickTime 6 installed on their computers.

Besides the much anticipated Q&A with Apple's execs, Apple is expected to provide holiday sales figures, as well as insight to future hardware/software plans. New pricing or new marketing strategies may also make the object of the conference. Apple isn't expected to make any straightforward assertions, but merely to provide hints of its future plans. While earlier conference calls have seen Apple's CEO pop in for a brief period of time, this year, Steve Jobs isn't expected to make an appearance.