APPLE EARNINGS PREVIEW: Break Out The Big Holiday Numbers

Apple reports earnings Monday afternoon when the market closes.

We'll have live coverage of the earnings, with numbers, news, and analysis as soon as possible, so tune in!

Until then, here is what people are looking for from Apple. Unless otherwise noted, these are what buy-side investors want to see, according to Gene Munster, who polled 20 investors:

• Revenue: $58 billion
• EPS: $14.35
• iPhone units: 56-57 million
• iPad units: 24-25 million
• Mac units: 4.6 million
• Gross Margin: 37.5%
• March quarter revenue: $45.74 billion (This is sell-side expectations)
• March quarter EPS: $10.86 (This is sell-side, and Apple no longer does EPS guidance, it gives the pieces to calculate an EPS)

Aside from the numbers, here's what else we're interested in:

• The iPhone 5C: What is the status of this little experiment for Apple? There are a lot of reports that the 5S is killing the 5C. This is fine by Apple since it makes more money on the 5S, but it probably didn't plan on releasing a product that wouldn't be a huge seller. Yesterday, the WSJ reported Apple would scrap the 5C after one year. We doubt Apple will confirm or deny that, but would it would be interesting to see what it thinks of the 5C after a full quarter.
• China/China Mobile: Apple is selling the iPhone on the world's largest carrier. In theory this should be a big deal! But, an analyst at Wedge Partners has released a bunch of bearish notes on the iPhone-China Mobile deal. Essentially, the analyst thinks that China Mobile users were already getting iPhones on the grey market, so being officially on China Mobile won't lead to a massive ramp in sales. We'll see what Tim Cook says on the call about China Mobile. More importantly, Apple's guidance should give a hint about what Apple really thinks.
• Future products: Apple doesn't come out and say, "We plan to release a television in Q1 2015, and an iWatch in Q4 2016." But, it does give concrete details on products from time to time. For instance, last April, Cook said, "We will have some really great stuff in the fall and all across 2014." Sure enough, Apple released new iPhones and iPads in the fall. Now, it's 2014, so what's next? There are reports of an Apple TV coming in the months ahead. Maybe Cook tips his hand on that? Or maybe he talks about wearables like the iWatch. Who knows? Hopefully someone asks him about new products.
• Big screen phones: This is technically part of future products, but it deserves its own bullet point. There is a lot of talk about Apple doing a phablet. In the past, Apple has emphasized the importance of being able to use an iPhone with one hand. Has Apple's position evolved? Or does it think an iPhablet is silly? Hopefully Cook can give a clue about Apple's thinking, because some people are getting really excited about a big iPhone. He might want to get expectations dialed back.
• Carl Icahn: Icahn has been agitating for Apple to do something with its piles of cash. Apple has been pretty clear that it disagrees with Icahn. We expect Apple to talk about this topic some more on the call.