Apple to announce first quarter 2012 earnings on Jan. 24

Apple (AAPL) investor relations has scheduled a conference call with analysts on Tuesday, Jan. 24 at 5 p.m. ET (2 p.m. PT) to discuss its first fiscal quarter results.

Given last summer’s pent-up demand for the new iPhone that was finally released in October, this should be a big one.

The Street’s consensus, as reported Tuesday by Thomson Reuters, is for earnings of $9.83 per share on sales of $38.16 billion, up 53% and 43%, respectively.

The more bullish (and generally more accurate) independent analysts we polled over the weekend are calling for earnings of $12 on sales of $43.26 billion, up 87% and 62%, respectively.

Apple closed Wednesday at $411.23, up $6.23 (1.54%) for the day. Its forward P/E is now 10.59, still relatively low for  a cash-rich company generating that kind of year-over-year growth.