• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Microsoft and Google missed. Apple reports next Tuesday.

By
Philip Elmer-DeWitt
Philip Elmer-DeWitt
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Philip Elmer-DeWitt
Philip Elmer-DeWitt
Down Arrow Button Icon
July 19, 2013, 5:50 AM ET

Click twice to enlarge.

FORTUNE — When it comes to quarterly earnings reports, Microsoft (MSFT) and Google (GOOG) can be tough acts to follow.

Not this quarter.

Wounded each in their own way by the shift from desktop to mobile computing, both companies reported disappointing earnings Thursday, and their shares fell sharply in after-hours trading — Google by $37.81 (-4.15%) and Microsoft by $2.23 (-6.29%).

Apple (AAPL) is up next, and despite the many wounds it’s suffered over the past months, it may be — paradoxically — in the best shape of the three.

For one thing, the company repositioned itself years ago, shifting its main source of revenue from desktop to mobile computing — first with the iPhone (2007), then with the iPad (2010).

For another, expectations for the June quarter are so low (see charts above) that the company has a good chance of beating them.

As we reported last week, this is Apple’s quarter of lowered expectations, in which the Street has reconciled itself in advance to zero revenue growth year over year.

The average revenue estimate among the 56 Apple analysts Fortune polled — 37 Wall Street professionals and 19 amateurs — is $35.4 billion, with the pros at $34.99 (a bit below last year’s $35.02 billion), and the amateurs a bit above at $36.18 billion. Apple’s guidance was a range: $33.5 billion to $35.5 billion.

Earnings per share, however, are a different story.

Apple is once again facing what analysts call a “difficult compare” in terms of the company’s overall profitability. Last year at this time Apple reported a gross margin of 42.8%, driven largely by high-margin iPhone and iPad sales. This year, more of its revenue is coming from lower-margin iPad minis and discounted older-model iPhones, and in April Apple warned analysts not to expect gross margins outside the 36% to 37% range.

That will knock the stuffing out of Apple’s Q3 earnings. Apple didn’t offer EPS guidance, but our analysts can do the math.

They came up with an average EPS of $7.48, nearly 20% below the $9.32 Apple reported in the same quarter last year. The average among the pros was $7.31 (which happens also to be the consensus Thomson Financial was reporting Friday morning). The amateurs this quarter are only slightly more bullish at $7.81.

We’ll find out who was closest to the mark when Apple reports its Q3 2013 earnings after the markets close on Tuesday, July 23.

Below: The individual analyst’s revenue and earnings numbers, listed this time in descending order of EPS estimates, with the pros in blue and the amateurs in green. Thanks one more time to Posts at Eventide‘s Robert Paul Leitao for pulling together the Braeburn Group numbers.



About the Author
By Philip Elmer-DeWitt
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in

Tesla CEO Elon Musk listens as U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on May 30, 2025 in Washington, DC.
PoliticsElon Musk
The White House snubs Elon Musk’s offer to cover TSA salaries as airport miseries hit record levels
By Eva RoytburgMarch 25, 2026
9 minutes ago
lancaster
AIschools
Two private school boys get probation for using AI to create 350 fake nudes of their classmates
By Mark Scolforo and The Associated PressMarch 25, 2026
23 minutes ago
UN
PoliticsUnited Nations
It’s time for slavery reparations, ‘the gravest crime against humanity,’ UN General Assembly says
By Edith M. Lederer and The Associated PressMarch 25, 2026
27 minutes ago
melania
PoliticsWhite House
Enter Melania Trump, escorted by humanoid robot: ‘I’m Figure 03, a humanoid built for the United States of America’
By Darlene Superville and The Associated PressMarch 25, 2026
30 minutes ago
Personal FinanceGold
How to sell gold and silver: Tax implications and what you should know
By Joseph HostetlerMarch 25, 2026
35 minutes ago
iran
Middle EastMiddle East
‘We do not plan on any negotiations’: Iran laughs at White House’s claims of cease-fire talks
By Jon Gambrell, Mike Corder, Munir Ahmed, Aamer Madhani and The Associated PressMarch 25, 2026
38 minutes ago

Most Popular

Magazine
The youngest-ever female CEO of a Fortune 500 company is fighting Trump's cuts to keep Medicaid strong
By Fortune EditorsMarch 24, 2026
2 days ago
Commentary
The Treasury just declared the U.S. insolvent. The media missed it
By Fortune EditorsMarch 23, 2026
2 days ago
Success
Palantir’s billionaire CEO says only two kinds of people will succeed in the AI era: trade workers — ‘or you’re neurodivergent’
By Fortune EditorsMarch 24, 2026
1 day ago
Energy
Nobel laureate Paul Krugman calls it 'treason': $580 million in suspicious oil futures traded minutes before Trump's Iran reversal
By Fortune EditorsMarch 24, 2026
1 day ago
Success
The job market is so bad that ‘reverse recruiters’ are charging $1,500 a month just to help people look for jobs
By Fortune EditorsMarch 25, 2026
14 hours ago
Success
JPMorgan has started monitoring the keystrokes, video calls, and meetings of its junior investment bankers—and they say it's for employee well-being
By Fortune EditorsMarch 24, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.