Apple on Monday updated its investor relations page to note that the company will announce its fiscal year 2016 first quarter results (fourth quarter calendar year) on Tuesday, January 26, 2016 at 5:00 p.m. EST (2:00 p.m. PST). If the company follows precedent, it should release its earnings report shortly after the close of trading (4:00 p.m. EST), followed by a live call with investors and analysts. Apple offers a live audio stream of its earnings calls, and the public can listen via a link at the company's website.
Investors will be particularly interested in Apple's holiday quarter iPhone sales, and this will be the first official glimpse at the iPad Pro's performance since the product's release in November, although we don't expect Apple to explicitly separate iPad Pro sales from overall iPad sales unless the device has significantly exceeded expectations.
Apple saw record revenue and profit in the first fiscal quarter of 2015, reporting earnings of US$18 billion on revenue of $74.6 billion, with both numbers easily beating analyst expectations. At its Q4 2015 call in October, the company provided guidance for Q1 2016 of between $75.5 and $77.5 billion in revenue with gross margins between 39 and 40 percent.
Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) closed slightly higher on Monday, the first trading day of 2016. The price was up $0.09 (0.09%) on heavier than average volume of 67.3 million, defying a broader market selloff triggered by fears of slower than expected growth in China. AAPL is currently down $0.45 (0.43%) in pre-market trading.
Be sure to check back with The Mac Observer on Tuesday, January 26th for complete coverage and analysis of Apple's Q1 2016 results.