AAPL 2nd Fiscal Quarter Estimates (Preliminary Overview)

I'm working on my estimates for Apple's 2nd fiscal quarter for publication mid-week. In all I expect the three-month period that ended in March to be the strongest 2nd fiscal quarter in the company's history and perhaps the 2nd best quarter overall, bested only by the 1st fiscal quarter's results that included high seasonal sales of Apple iPods. In preliminary analysis the March quarter performance appears to be similar to Apple's 4th fiscal quarter of 2009 (the quarter ended in September 2009). This alone makes the results remarkable. Apple's 2nd fiscal has traditionally been the weakest quarter of the year, sandwiched between the holiday quarter and the spring educational buying season. 

I expect the Apple iMac to emerge as a clear sales winner in the quarter and to make a strong sales showing for any line of desktop PCs, regardless of make and operating system. The iPhone will have held its own in an increasingly competitive smartphone market and the iPod line will show a bit of relative strength led by the popular iPod touch. Although the iPod line has diminished in its percentage contribution to overall revenue and earnings, the Apple iPod touch, as a device component of the iPhone OS eco-system, will buoy the line's results for the quarter.

The Apple iPad will not be a factor in the 2nd fiscal quarter estimates due to its April 3rd debut. My 2nd fiscal quarter estimates will be published on this blog mid-week.