Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is scheduled to announce its second quarter results on April 23, 2013. Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE:CS) said in its latest research report that the iPhone maker’s earnings would easily outperform the Wall Street’s expectations.
Analysts expect Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) revenues to grow 10 percent Y-o-Y to $43 billion, while earnings would rise to $10.34 per share. Wall Street’s consensus estimates Apple Inc. to post $42.7 billion in sales with $10.13 in earnings.
The company’s gross margin is expected to be 38.6 percent. Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE:CS) analysts said that they expect FY-2013 EPS to stand at $44.92, which will grow further to $54.03 in FY-2014. The company is well positioned in the hardware market, and is likely to maintain its momentum across different product categories through continued innovation.
Credit Suisse has an Outperform rating on Apple Inc. stock with $600 price target.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is expected to sell 38 million iPhones in the second quarter, up 9 percent from the same period a year ago. However, sales would be low in the third quarter.
Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE:CS) expects Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) to sell 31 million units in the third quarter as iPhone 5 sales slow down. That would still be an 18 percent increase over the third quarter of 2012.
For the full year 2013, analysts forecast Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) to sell 158 million iPhones, and the sales would increase to 194 million units in 2014. Samsung Galaxy S4 is expected to gain market share among high-end users. Though Apple Inc’s lead in the smartphone market might have narrowed, it still retains the ecosystem advantage.
Based on the recent checks and strong initial sales of iPad Mini, analysts forecast that iPad sales would surge 61 percent Y-o-Y to 19 million units in the second quarter, of which iPad Mini will account for 10 million units. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will continue to dominate the tablets market with about 45 percent market share in 2013.
Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE:CS) said that Apple Inc. shares currently trade at 8x its FY-2014 EPS estimate. That seems inexpensive if you consider 11 percent growth between 2012 and 2014, and net cash per share of $145.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares were down 0.41 percent to $424.48 at 12:43 PM EDT.
