) is due to unveil its latest three-month earnings after the closing bell on Thursday, with investors eager for details on the tech giant's performance during its September quarter as well as a look into its expectations for the crucial holiday shopping season.
Yet its fiscal fourth quarter sales are expected to come in at $89.34 billion, according to Bloomberg consensus forecasts -- a fall from $90.1B in the same period last year and the fourth straight quarterly drop. "Sentiment has turned more challenging for shares of Apple in recent days," the JPMorgan analysts said in a note. They added that they will be on the lookout for commentary around the estimated quarter-on-quarter evolution of Apple's sales of gadgets like the iPhone, iPad tablets, and Mac laptops. Projected growth in the double digits is also expected at the company's services business, which includes offerings like Apple TV+ and AppleCare device insurance.
Apple's executives may also face questions around their plans to keep pace with other tech industry rivals in the intensifying race to harness and monetize the nascent growth of generative artificial intelligence, observers said. Heavy capital expenditures could be needed to grow A.I.'s presence in the business, although this would likely cause free cash flow to decline in Apple's 2024 fiscal year, according to analysts at KeyBanc.