Apple Earnings Preview: On Track To Top $100B Revenue Amid Strong Uptake Of iPhone 12

Apple Inc AAPL is on track to report a bumper quarter, going by the iPhone sales trend. The company is scheduled to release its fiscal-year 2021 first-quarter results Wednesday after the market close.

Record Revenues, EPS In Sight: Analysts, on average, estimate Apple to report first-quarter earnings of $1.41 per share on revenues of $103.28 billion.

Loup Venture's Gene Munster is above consensus, with the famed Apple analyst estimating 19% year-over-year revenue growth vis-à-vis the 16.70% growth Street is modeling.

The company's revenues are expected to top the $100 billion mark for the first time in its history, with the iPhone strength supporting much of the upside.

Apple launched its newest iteration of the iPhone, dubbed the iPhone 12, late last year. The company had a delayed, as well as phased, launch of the iPhone 12, which came in four variants. All the four models are 5G enabled.

Related Link: 10 Things Apple Investors May Wish For In 2021

Other Metrics: iPhone builds in the quarter is estimated in the low-to-mid 90 million mark, Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives said in a note, citing supply chain estimates.

Munster sees the share of iPhone revenues to total revenues increasing to 59% in the first quarter from the typical 50% range. He expects iPhone revenues to increase 16% to $64.9 billion compared to the Street estimate of $59.4 billion.

Services revenue, which makes up 14% of sales, may have risen 18% year-over-year to $15 billion, the analyst estimates.

Munster expects Apple to have exited the December quarter with total cash of $185 billion, comprising $112 billion in debt and $73 billion in net cash.

Forward Outlook: For the March quarter, Apple is expected to report EPS of 91 cents on revenues of $74.54 billion. The consensus estimates for the fiscal year 2021 call for EPS of $4.03 on revenues of $318.9 billion.

Munster sees the accelerating digital transformation serving as a tailwind for Apple's revenue growth for the next several years.

Ives said Apple has the potential to sell over 240 million units of iPhones in 2021, which could surpass the previous record of 231 million units set in fiscal year 2015.

AAPL Stock: Apple shares ended 2020 with a gain of about 82% at $132.69. Having experienced some weakness at the start of the year, the stock has come back and is trading with a modest gain of 4.8% for the year-to-date period.

Apple valuation passed the $2 trillion mark in August, and if the company continues to execute at this pace, a $3 trillion market cap is on the horizon over the next 12 months.

Apple shares closed Tuesday's session at $143.16.

(Photo by Shiwa ID on Unsplash)