Expect Slight Upside In Mar-17 From Easy Comps and Typical Conservative Guidance for Jun-17. Apple reports Mar-17 quarterly results tomorrow, May 2nd. Despite shares at an all time high, investor optimism for an iPhone X super cycle this fall remains high, which should continue to push AAPL’s multiple higher into the fall. There appears to be little risk from the Mar-17 results or Jun-17 guidance that would change iPhone X anticipation. Fast forwarding to the fall, shares are setting up to enter a range-bound period as investors playing the iPhone X trade will likely unwind positions.

If Apple guidance midpoint is 1-3% below our Jun-17 estimates, we will likely maintain our estimates.

Mar-17 & Jun-17 Expectations. We expect Apple’s Mar-17 quarter slightly ahead of Street consensus numbers given the 17pps easier comp, vs the Dec-16 quarter, and the Street is generally looking for similar iPhone growth from Dec-16 to Mar-17.  As for the June quarter guidance, we expect a typically conservative outlook. This is understandable given investors are expecting a step up in iPhone growth from around 7% in Mar-17 to 13-15% in Jun-17. Part of the step up in iPhone Jun-17 growth is due to the 5pps easier comp in the Jun-17 quarter.

On The Call. We will be paying close attention to the following topics:

• Super Or Typical Cycle? Investors will be tuned into any unlikely commentary from Apple to help answer the question of whether we are entering a super cycle with the iPhone X (reason for accelerated upgrades) or just a modest step up in iPhone growth. We’re not expecting much color from Apple, but are encouraged by our estimates that this fall the 2-year old or older iPhone base should exceed 300m units, a strong base of potential customers to fuel investor expectations of the  unit sales between 235-245m phones in FY18 during the iPhone X cycle.
• Services Potential.  Apple will continue to be heavy on the services growth message. We expect CEO Tim Cook to reiterate comments from the Dec-16 call that he expects the Services business to double in the next four years, implying annual growth of about 19%. We expect services to grow from 14% of revenue in FY17 to 20% in FY22.
• AR & Auto Ambitions. Related to AR, Cook has made six public comments in the past 9 months and we expect him to continue to emphasize that Apple will be a winner in AR. It’s been widely reported that one version of the iPhone X will have 3D mapping capabilities.  We see the iPhone as the AR device for the next 5 years. As for automotive, recent news of Apple’s permit to test self-driving cars in California should not have come as much of a surprise given the poorly kept secret of Project Titan. The permit does beg the question of whether Apple is building a car or just building software for a car. Our take Apple is almost certainly exploring how it could build an entire car, but as we learned the hard way with Apple television, exploration does not mean a product comes to market.

What To Expect With The iPhone X. Read our thoughts on iPhone X and the features we expect to advance Apple’s lead in AR-enabled devices.

Disclaimer: We actively write about the themes in which we invest: artificial intelligence, robotics, virtual reality, and augmented reality. From time to time, we will write about companies that are in our portfolio.  Content on this site including opinions on specific themes in technology, market estimates, and estimates and commentary regarding publicly traded or private companies is not intended for use in making investment decisions. We hold no obligation to update any of our projections. We express no warranties about any estimates or opinions we make.