Strong fourth-quarter earnings due from Apple

Investor expectations are high ahead of Apple’s fourth quarter results, which will be released after the market closes today. The results will include the sales of the latest iPhone 6 and 6 Plus until September, which are said to have been strong.

The company sold 10 million new iPhones in the first weekend it went on sale, and this didn’t include sales in China. The release of the iPhone 6 in China was delayed due to regulatory approval questions.

Goldman Sachs is forecasting fourth quarter revenue of $39.27 billion (€30.8 billion), near the top end of Apple's guidance. Apple has guided revenues of $37-$40 billion for the quarter. Earnings are expected to jump from $1.18 per share to $1.30 per share.

Goldman expects earnings per share to be $1.28. In its fiscal 2013 which ended last September, Apple posted full-year revenue of $170.9 billion and profit of $37 billion. During that quarter, it generated $37.5 billion in revenue and $7.5 billion in profit, boosted by sakes of 14.1 million iPads, 33.8 million iPhones and plus 4.6 million Macs. It is now racing Google to be the first $1 trillion company by market capitalisation, but it looks like Google will win.

Apple last week unveiled its newest iPad tablets. Tablets are its second biggest product by revenue, but sales have declined for two straight quarters. The company hasn’t introduced a new iPad since October 2013, and tastes have been shifting toward smartphones with bigger screens.