Apple Investors Expect 'Blow-Out' Performance for Last Quarter

Since hitting an all-time high of $644 on April 10, Apple's stock has slipped more than 13%. Apple shares were down $13.40, or 2.3%, to $558.30 today.

Varitimos, though, shrugged off the sliding share price, which he says doesn't reflect Apple's fundamental strength. "Apple's sell-off prior to earnings might be interpreted as the market discounting a so-so quarter, perhaps they're discounting new leadership," he wrote. "But this flies in the face of everything we observe."

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect Apple to report revenue of $36.8 billion and earnings of $10.04 a share, compared with sales of $24.67 billion and earnings of $6.40 a share in the prior year's quarter.

"I expect results to be in line with expectations," noted Apple investor Michael Yoshikami, the CEO and founder of Destination Wealth Management, in an email. "The street will be focused on iPad sales, in particular, especially as Mac sales may be on the low end of projections."

Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu expects the tech behemoth to ship 29.5 million iPhones, 12.3 million iPads and 4.3 million Macs. Topeka Capital Markets' Brian White, forecasts 29.6 million iPhones, 11.58 million iPads and 4.78 million Macs, but notes that iPhones and iPads have upside potential.

"IPhone sales will need to be a surprise to positively impact the stock, and I expect that not to occur, as Verizon(VZ) has already reported slowing activations," added Yoshikami. "The stock will likely await iPhone 5 for its next push upward."

--Written by James Rogers in New York.

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