Apple earnings: Focus likely on margins, services, genAI, Citi says
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Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is slated to report fiscal third-quarter results on Thursday after the close of trading and investment firm Citi said investors will be looking for a few different things, including the tech giant's opportunity in generative artificial intelligence.
"We believe investor focus is on continued gross margin expansion, services recovery and Generative AI opportunity," analyst Atif Malik wrote in an investor note.
Malik, who maintained his buy rating on Apple (AAPL) said his gross margin estimates are 90 basis points above Wall Street's estimate for fiscal 2024. 
For the coming quarter, Malik expects Apple (AAPL) to generate $81.6B in revenue, just slightly below the Wall Street estimate of $81.8B.
Looking ahead, Malik expects September results to be higher due to iPhone sales, as well as recent comments from semiconductor companies such as NXP Semiconductors (NXPI) and Qorvo (QRVO), both of which indicated "strong seasonal growth" in premium smartphones.
"In general, we believe Apple is more focused on maximizing gross profit per unit of iPhone from migration to premium phones and related services than volume," Malik added.
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