Analysts are largely bullish on Apple’s prospects after it reported better-than-expected results in its third-quarter earnings on Tuesday — sending the company’s stock to record highs.
Apple beat Wall Street’s expectations on both revenue and earnings per share, sending its stock jumping more than 5%, and also issued strong revenue guidance for the next quarter — hinting at the launch of an eagerly awaited redesigned iPhone in September.
Apple’s stock is currently sitting around the $150-mark.
In a research note, analysts for Macquarie wrote that its call “was one of its most bullish in recent memory,” and touted augmented reality (AR) as a potential growth area: “We expect that in addition to being a key marketing and functional driver of iPhone hardware, AR is going to be directly monetized via the App Store … we think AR will have some important near- term and many significant long-term implications for Apple and others.”
William Blair, meanwhile, said it “remain[s] bullish on the iPhone segment due to a combination of positive demand trends in emerging markets … a weak competitive landscape in the smartphone space… and the company taking an aggressive approach to enabling the device for next-generation applications.”
Not everyone was so positive though, with Barclay’s analysts warning that “pre-launch fervor [for the iPhone 8] could get frothy,” and that they remained “skeptical.”
Business Insider has rounded up a load of analysts’ reactions to Apple’s Q3 results, and you can read them all below. But first, here are all the key numbers, via Business Insider’s Kif Leswing:
- Q3 EPS (GAAP): $1.67, up 17% year-over-year, vs expectations of $1.57
- Q3 revenue: $45.4 billion, up 7% year-over-year, vs expectations of $44.95 billion
- Gross margin: 38.5%, up 1% year-over-year, vs expectations of 38.2%
- iPhone unit sales:41.0 million, up 1% year-over-year, vs expectations of 41.1 million
- iPad unit sales: 11.42 million, up 14% year-over-year
- Mac unit sales: 4.292 million, flat year-over-year
- Q4 revenue guidance: $49 billion – $52 billion vs expectations of $49.21 billion