C-Cube DVD chip link-up likely Apple's computer sales key in quarter
By Janet Haney, CBS MarketWatch Last Update: 3:57 PM ET Apr 17, 2000 Silicon Stocks Hardware Report
CUPERTINO, Calif. (CBS.MW) -- Apple Computer is set to open its books on its second quarter Wednesday, as analysts look especially for insight into sales of the PC maker's Power Mac G4.
The consensus estimate from analysts surveyed by First Call predicts that Apple (AAPL: news, msgs) earned 81 cents a share in its second fiscal quarter, compared with 60 cents in the year-ago period.
Salomon Smith Barney's Richard Gardner said his estimate is in line with Wall Street's, yet he sees upside to the figure and said he would be a buyer of the stock ahead of the quarterly results.
He said possible upside could come from strong sales of Power Mac G4 desktop machines and component-cost-lowering declines in DRAM prices during the quarter.
Charlie Wolf, an analyst at Warburg Dillon Read, has a revenue estimate of $1.97 billion on the PC maker, along with a projection of earnings of 81 cents a share.
In the first quarter, Apple sales totaled $2.34 billion. See full story. Revenue hit $1.53 billion on healthy sales of IMacs and Apple's G3 desktop product in last year's second quarter. See archived story.
Like many technology companies, though, Apple has seen its stock fall 25 percent off its all-time high of 150 3/8. It reached that level March 23.
"There's a major revaluation taking place on all technology, and consequently it's not inconceivable that Apple could fall below 100," Wolf observed. The analyst, however, is recommending the purchase of Apple shares.
Another 2000 highlight for Apple came in early January, when Steve Jobs announced he was dropping the "interim" from his chief executive officer title. See full story. He also unveiled the Mac OS X operating system, along with new Internet features for the company's Web site, at that time.
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