Apple Inc. was saved in its last earnings report by an unlikely hero, and the same dynamic may show up in the tech giant’s holiday earnings.
Macs posted record revenue of $11.5 billion that was more than $2 billion ahead of expectations in the September quarter, making up for a shortfall in Apple’s AAPL iPhone sales. Apple may be looking for a boost from its white knight yet again when it reports holiday-quarter results Thursday afternoon, since its iPhone business has faced supply disruptions amid COVID-19 shutdowns in China.
Still, revenue of that magnitude would be Apple’s fourth highest on record for the category, despite the lack of a big product refresh, and there could be room for upside on Macs again this quarter. Morgan Stanley analyst Erik Woodring recently boosted his expectations for Mac revenue to $9.8 billion, up 12% from his prior forecast due to “stronger-than-expected Mac shipments.”