Piper: June quarter up

The research firm Piper Jaffray is stating that despite the iPhone being on sale for only two days of the June quarter, it expects this to help push quarterly results, to be announced after market close on July 18th, and discussed in a conference call on July 25th. The iPhone beat Street expectations in dramatic fashion, going beyond 332,000 units sold to crack the 500,000 barrier (valued at $12 million). This will aid the bulk of Apple's increased revenue, which Piper says has been been driven by the release of new MacBook and MacBook Pro laptops. The Street is anticipating total Mac sales of 1.6 million, with Piper predicting upside.

Total revenue for the June quarter is calculated at $5.3 billion, generating earnings per share (EPS) in excess of $0.72.

iPod sales have also contributed to Apple's welfare, as NPD research data indicates figures between 9.5 and 10 million. However, while predictions support numbers close to (or reaching) the 10 million mark, it is suggested that a number of potential buyers may have decided to wait for the iPhone instead.

Piper is expecting superior growth in the fourth quarter, with an EPS of $0.83 on top of $6 billion in revenue; this may still be less, though, than the one-time potential, since by July 5th only one percent of Apple's retail outlets had iPhones in stock. By July 10th, this had rebounded to 50 percent.

by MacNN Staff