Apple: Results expected to beat forecasts, but outlook will set tone for next year
Shahid Jamil

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is set to report its fiscal fourth-quarter results after Thursday's market close, and all of Wall Street will have its eyes and ears open to assess whatever Chief Executive Tim Cook & Co. have to say about sales of the company's iconic iPhones and other products.
However, with Apple (AAPL) having cited foreign currency exchange rates as affecting sales this year, and reports that the company is already cutting production of its new iPhone 14 Plus have added some degree of uncertainty to what Apple (AAPL) will say about its outlook during what is always its biggest sales period of any year.
Wall Street analysts currently estimate Apple (AAPL) will report a profit of $1.27 a share on revenue of $88.8B for the quarter that ended September 30. In the same period a year ago, Apple (AAPL) earned $1.24 a share on sales of $83.4B.
Dan Ives, of Wedbush, said that Apple (AAPL) will be delivering a "seminal" quarterly report as it comes amid ongoing widespread economic uncertainty and Federal Reserve efforts to put the brakes on inflation. Ives also said that investors and Wall Street will also use whatever Cook says about Apple's (AAPL) recently released iPhone 14 line as a gauge for how demand may shape up heading into 2023.
Erik Woodring recently said he believes Apple (AAPL) will exceed fourth-quarter sales expectations, but investors will still have concerns about a broader market downturn in PC sales.
Apple's (AAPL) results also come as the company this week hiked the prices of its Apple Music, Apple TV+ and Apple One media bundle for the first time.