Apple PR Stocks Up on Superlatives in Preparation for Earnings Report

When Apple reports third-quarter earnings Tuesday after the bell, the company will likely beat consensus estimates. as it often does. And it will likely offer strong, but comically conservative, guidance for the upcoming quarter, as it often does.

In a research note this morning, RBC analyst Mike Abramsky theorizes that it will be the iPad driving Apple (AAPL) to a beat this quarter. He figures the company sold 3.3 million of them in the third quarter and expects to sell 4.5 million in the fourth. The iPhone will play a role here as well, but Abramsky fears that production constraints may have hamstrung the device’s sales slightly in the third quarter.

So what to expect come tomorrow afternoon? Abramsky says $15.2 billion in revenue and $3.20 earnings per share, well above the $14.7 billion and $3.10 the Street is looking for.

[Image credit: Rick Smolan]