APPLE EARNINGS PREVIEW: The Most Exciting Earnings Report Of The Year

Apple will report earnings on Monday afternoon when the market closes.

We'll have the numbers as soon as they hit, so make sure you tune in for the results, and analysis of Apple's performance.

This is going to be the most interesting Apple's earnings call of the year.

As far as we can tell, Apple has announced all its major products for the year, so now it's time for management to provide clues about how those products are performing. (Maybe it's not done for the year, and has another product planned. If so, we expect to hear a clue about that.)

The product line - iPhone 5S, iPhone 5C, iPad Air, and iPad Mini - was largely known in advance/expected by analysts. What they don't know is how those products are performing. And, if Apple is struggling to make those products.

We want to hear Apple management talk about the iPhone 5C. The 5C was expected to be a "cheap" phone. It is not. Compared to other mid-level phones, it's expensive. As a result, sales are reportedly weak, and Apple is said to be cutting orders. Apple will probably not have much direct to say on the 5C, but we're looking forward to hearing why it was priced the way it was priced, as well as what kind of consumer reaction Apple is seeing.

The iPhone 5S is still in short supply, so we want to hear when Apple will get that fixed.

As for the iPad business, it contracted in the June quarter. Will that happen again? If it does, what does this mean for the iPad business overall? Can it be the mega product that complements the iPhone? Or is it going to be a smaller than expected piece of the business?

We're also curious to see what Apple has to say about the iPad Mini with Retina display. Apple made the unusual decision to announce it without a release date. This suggests it's struggling to make the new iPad Mini. We're looking for information on the Retina supply for the holiday season.

Other random stuff: We'd love for an analyst to ask Tim Cook for his thoughts on Samsung's Galaxy Gear smart watch, which was a critical flop. Apple is reportedly exploring the space, and perhaps Cook would tip his hand a little bit. We'd like any clues or hints on future products. Is the iWatch coming next year? What about an Apple television?

This is a really exciting earnings report with more questions to be answered than usual. You're not going to want to miss it.

Here are the big numbers people are expecting. Revenue and EPS are via Yahoo Finance, and product lines are from buy-side analysts, via Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray:

• Revenue: $36.82 billion
• EPS: $7.92
• iPhone: 31 million
• iPad: 14.5 million
• Mac: 4.6 million
• GM: 37%
• December quarter revenue: $55.53 billion