SAN FRANCISCO, July 31, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Apple will release quarterly
earnings figures Tuesday as it flirts with a history-making, trillion-dollar
market value based on its share price.
To hit the trillion-dollar mark, Apple shares would have to climb about
seven percent from the $189.91 price logged at the close of official trading
Monday on the Nasdaq.
The market is eager for news about demand for iPhones and how the company
is riding out trade turbulence between the US and China.
President Donald Trump’s trade wars include 25 percent US tariffs on $34
billion in Chinese goods, with more on the way, and steep tariffs on steel
and aluminum, which provoked China and others to hit back with import duties
on US goods.
The Silicon Valley-based company is expected to unveil new iPhone models
in the fall, sticking with its practice of releasing upgraded models annually
ahead of the year-end holiday shopping season.
Sales of iPhones in the quarter could be tame since many fans have
historically either bought handsets in prior months or are holding out for
new models on the near horizon.
Apple earnings are likely to be solid, with the average price of iPhones
sold rising as buyers opt for the top-end iPhone X.
Billions of dollars that Apple has been spending to buy back shares could
help propel the company past a trillion-dollar value mark in the stock
market.
Early this year, Apple announced it would buy back $100 billion in shares.
Apple has managed to shine, despite bruises to its image that included
being accused of keeping young people addicted to smartphones, slowing
performance of older iPhones to motivate upgrades and sidestepping taxes by
nestling cash in offshore havens.
The market will be watching to see whether a battery replacement program
and software changes to improve performance of older iPhones are costing the
company.
Apple has battled with the US government over making iPhones so secure
even police can’t peek at data, and prides itself on not making money off
people’s personal information the way ad-targeting companies such as Facebook
do.
Apple has hammered away at the growing amount of money it takes in from
music, applications, games, subscriptions and services it sells to people
using its devices.
Money made from services is seen as an important element of
diversification away from having to rely heavily on selling iPhones.
A 31 percent rise in services to $9.2 billion in the first three months of
this year followed big jumps in Apple Pay, Apple Music and other programs.