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

Here are the best and worst Apple analysts for Q3 2015

By
Philip Elmer-DeWitt
Philip Elmer-DeWitt
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Philip Elmer-DeWitt
Philip Elmer-DeWitt
Down Arrow Button Icon
July 22, 2015, 8:13 AM ET

Screen Shot 2015-07-21 at 8.51.36 PM
This was one of those quarters where Apple expectations got weirdly ahead of Apple reality, and not just among the congenitally bullish independents in Fortune‘s panel of analysts.

Some of the worst estimates in terms of unit sales came from veteran Wall Street professionals, while the best estimates this quarter came from a pair of gifted amateurs.

Before getting into the details, I have to give a shout-out to 500-plus (500-plus!) mostly anonymous Apple analysts who contributed to Estimize’s experiment in crowdsourced modeling. Their final consensus—earnings of $1.86 on revenues of $49.586—was a lot closer to the actual results ($1.85 on $49.605) than our collection of pros and independents, separately or combined.

But Fortune can do something Estimize can’t: Name names.

So, a tip of the hat…

  • To Financial Alchemist Turley Muller and Michel Contant of the Braeburn Group, who nailed Apple’s EPS to the penny. Muller was No. 1 for the top and bottom lines. Contant came in first overall thanks to excellent unit sales estimates.
  • To Deutsche Bank’s Sherri Scribner for the best revenue estimate ($49.7 billion vs. $49.61 billion).
  • To the Braeburn Group’s Patrick Smellie for his iPhone unit sales number (47.524 million vs. 47.534 million).

.

And a wag of the finger…

  • To Pacific Crest’s Andy Hargreaves for overshooting Apple’s revenue by more than $4 billion, with Asymco’s Horace Dediu and Braeburn’s Lee Storch close behind).
  • To Credit Suisse’s Kulbinder Garcha for overestimating iPhone sales by more than 8.7 million units.
  • To FBR’s Daniel Ives for overstating Mac sales by 400,000 units.

.

These overheated estimates may have contributed to the panic Tuesday night that knocked 7% off Apple’s market cap in after hours trading.

Below: Our annotated master spreadsheet, with the best estimates highlighted in dark green, the second and third best in light green, the worst in red and the second and third worst in pink.

Screen Shot 2015-07-22 at 3.45.58 PM

Click to enlarge.

Thanks once again to Posts at Eventide‘s Robert Paul Leitao for pulling together the Braeburn Group numbers.

Follow Philip Elmer-DeWitt on Twitter at @philiped. Read his Apple (AAPL) coverage at fortune.com/ped or subscribe via his RSS feed.

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

Latest in Tech

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
Fortune Secondary Logo
  • 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 Tech

Photo of a young man holding a smartphone having his face scanned
LawSocial Media
Social media companies are fighting the ‘age verification trap’ as collecting biometrics on kids violates privacy rights
By Catherina GioinoMarch 2, 2026
1 hour ago
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman
AIOpenAI
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman defends decision to strike Pentagon deal after Anthropic blacklisting, admits ‘optics don’t look good’
By Jeremy KahnMarch 2, 2026
2 hours ago
greenspan
EconomyFederal Reserve
’90s nostalgia seizes the Fed and White House as Warsh and Trump see AI as an internet-style productivity boom
By Paul Wiseman and The Associated PressMarch 2, 2026
5 hours ago
washington
LawWashington
Washington roasted for using AI feature with heavily accented English instead of actual Spanish on state helpline
By Cedar Attanasio and The Associated PressMarch 2, 2026
5 hours ago
Europedigital transformation
Why Europe can lead in trusted, industrialized AI
By Dave McCannMarch 2, 2026
6 hours ago
NewslettersTerm Sheet
Why Sequoia’s Alfred Lin isn’t worried about the SaaS-pocalypse
By Leo SchwartzMarch 2, 2026
7 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Economy
Your grandparents are the reason the U.S. isn't in a recession right now. That won't last forever
By Eleanor PringleMarch 1, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Success
MacKenzie Scott's close relationship with Toni Morrison long before Amazon put Scott on the path to give more than $1 billion to HBCUs
By Sasha RogelbergMarch 1, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Middle East
U.S. military gives Iran a taste of its own medicine with cheap copycat Shahed drones, while concern shifts to munitions supply in extended conflict
By Jason MaMarch 1, 2026
22 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Middle East
As Iran attacks Dubai, the tax-free haven for the global elite could see 'catastrophic' fallout — 'this can also send shockwaves globally'
By Jason MaMarch 1, 2026
24 hours ago
placeholder alt text
AI
American schools weren’t broken until Silicon Valley used a lie to convince them they were—now reading and math scores are plummeting
By Sasha RogelbergMarch 1, 2026
22 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Health
Gen Z men are eating ‘boy kibble,’ the human equivalent to dog food, to load up on protein cheaply
By Jake AngeloMarch 1, 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.