Apple is set to report its fiscal Q2 2019 earnings at the end of this month. Ahead of that release, analysts are offering their predictions on iPhone shipments for the quarter, and one firm is already taking a bearish view.
OTR Global, a media research firm, today issued a new investor note in which it predicts that Apple shipped between 37 million and 42 million iPhones during the second fiscal quarter of 2019. Wall Street analysts were expecting shipments between 40 million and 45 million. The note was first reported by Street Insider.
OTR says it surveyed 18 Asian supply chain executives about iPhone orders and demand during the quarter, concluding that Apple will likely miss expectations. The firm attributes the miss to “poor demand for the new XR and XS models.”
Of course, Apple no longer reports iPhone unit sales, so it will be nearly impossible to gauge how the real numbers compare to the analyst predictions. Apple will be under increased scrutiny during this quarter as last quarter it was forced to revise its earnings outlook due to lower than expected iPhone demand.
As a refresher, here is the guidance provided by Apple:
- Revenue between $55 billion and $59 billion
- Gross margin between 37 percent and 38 percent
- Operating expenses between $8.5 billion and $8.6 billion
- Other income/(expense) of $300 million
- Tax rate of approximately 17 percent
For comparison’s sake, Apple reported revenue of $61.1 billion and iPhone sales of 52.2 million during the second quarter of 2018. It also shipped 9.1 million iPads and 4.07 million Macs, with revenue falling right in the middle of its guidance.
