Apple will announce its fiscal 2001, first-quarter earnings results later today and the news is not expected to be good as a fall off in overall PC sales and lackluster holiday buying will reportedly have a strong impact.
Analysts surveyed by First Call/Thomson Financial expect the computer maker to report a loss of 65 cents a share. Apple warned in early December that it would have a loss in the range of US$225 million to $250 million for the quarter. Meanwhile, revenue is expected to ring in at just around $1 billion, down significantly from the average of recent quarters.
Since Jobs’ return, the company has churned out three years of ever-increasing profits, which came to a shattering halt in the previous quarter due to overall lackluster performance in the PC sector.
Preceding the earnings announcement, shares were down 1/16 to close at 17 1/8, a change of only 0.36 percent. Volume was relatively moderate, with 5,466,400 shares changing hands.
Apple will hold a conference call with press and analysts at 5 PM EST to discuss the ramifications of the earnings announcement and plans for the future. As usual, Apple CFO Fred Anderson will be handling the call, fielding what will undoubtedly be an onslaught of questions from analysts.
For the public, Apple will provide live audio streaming of its FY 01 First Quarter Results Conference Call utilizing QuickTime. The live audio Webcast will be accessible through Apple’s web site.
MacCentral will have updates of Apple’s earnings as they become available.