Pete Najarian Says Apple Could Report 'Something Close' To Microsoft's Numbers: What Investors Need To Know

Apple Inc AAPL is set to announce its fiscal first-quarter financial results after the bell Thursday. 

Market Rebellion co-founder Pete Najarian highlighted some things that investors should be watching for Thursday on CNBC's "Fast Money Halftime Report."

"If they are able to do something even close to what Microsoft Corp MSFT came up with, I think then things will be very good," Najarian said.

Microsoft reported quarterly earnings of $2.48 per share, which beat the $2.31 estimate. The company reported quarterly revenue of $51.7 billion, which beat the estimate of $50.88 billion.

The stock traded lower initially, but surged higher in after-hours trading when the company issued guidance on the call.

Najarian told CNBC that we could see something similar from Apple, calling it a "free-cash-flow absolute animal of a stock." Following a series of checks, analysts are calling for "huge numbers" in terms of iPhone sales, he said. 

"I don't know if they'll get the same kind of numbers as Microsoft, but if they can get something close, then I think that's going to be a quarter that people are going to like."

See Also: Is There Upside To Apple Shares On Earnings?

If Apple reports numbers that are below estimates, it could cause problems for the stock, Najarian warned: "Then I think you will see some heavy selling come into Apple."

AAPL Price Action: Apple has traded as low as $116.21 and as high as $182.94 over a 52-week period.

The stock was down 0.38% at $159.09 Thursday afternoon. 

Photos: courtesy of Apple and Microsoft.