Tuesday's Market Minute: Scary Fast Delivers New M3 Chip Family As Apple Earnings Loom

A month after introducing its newest lineup of iPhones, Apple’s AAPL second product event of the year, Scary Fast, unveiled its newest silicon chip family: the M3, M3 Pro and M3 Max, with its latest line-up of MacBook Pro laptops and iMac computers.

In true Apple fashion, the name was a nod to its fastest computers to date, on the eve of Halloween. The event was later than usual and ended in 30 minutes. The tech giant also took it as an opportunity to flaunt its new iPhone quality, by revealing at the end that it was shot on an iPhone. 

It comes at a difficult time for Apple’s computers, as Mac sales have dropped this year on weak demand, higher inventory counts, and deteriorating macroeconomic conditions. It also comes as Apple’s sales fell for the third consecutive quarter through July. Mac revenue in the quarter dropped 7%.

But with back-to-school shopping and any continued excitement from the all-time revenue record in Apple’s Services during the June quarter, could the tech giant see a boost in sales and profits? Moreover, as consumers hold onto the money in their pockets, only spending for necessities, are they still willing to buy new thousand-dollar iPhones in this economy, ultimately helping the company see a winning earnings season? 

When Apple reports on Thursday, analysts are expecting adjusted earnings of $1.39 a share, which would be higher sequentially and year-over-year. Analysts expect revenues of $88.79 billion, which would be the fourth consecutive year-over-year drop, but higher than last quarter. 

This quarterly earnings report will show if, even with a higher price tag, consumers see Apple’s products as discretionary or glorified necessities.

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