Apple Reports Earnings Monday -- April 26, 2015

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From Seeking Alpha:

Apple will likely report a 2Q15 beat to consensus EPS of $2.14 this coming Monday [after market close, $2.15] on strong revenue growth (up 24% from last year) and margin trends (41.0% vs. 39.3% last year). The iPhone will be the primary focus as investors look for any indication of continued above average sales trends compared to previous iPhone cycles. While recent iPhone sales share in the U.S. and Europe appear slightly ahead of previous years, strong sales in China will be the primary driver behind 35% growth in iPhone unit sales. ]

In addition to earnings, Apple is expected to announce an updated capital return program.

The Mac and iPad are becoming less of a factor for earnings as those two product categories now represent a smaller percentage of Apple's overall business. It will be difficult to get Apple Watch sales expectations from guidance, but management may give commentary on how the Watch launch is proceeding. Similar to last quarter, the impact from a strong dollar will be reflected in management's revenue and margin guidance for 3Q15.

Remember those big new rigs in the Bakken? Zacks reports:

Oil and gas drilling contractor Helmerich & Payne Inc. HP reported better-than-expected results for the second quarter of fiscal 2015 (three months ended Mar 31, 2015), owing to higher average rig margin per day from the company’s U.S. Land Operations unit. This was partially offset by lower demand for drilling activities following weak oil prices.

Quarterly earnings per share from continuing operations (excluding special items) came in at 96 cents, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 79 cents. However, compared with the year-ago adjusted profit, the results fell almost 34% from $1.45.

Starbucks? Stunning:

In a report published Friday, Barclays analyst Jeffrey Bernstein commented on Starbucks Corporation's second quarter results, which were "stunning," led by upside to comps in the core Americas and U.S. Bernstein noted that Starbucks' second quarter Americas comp of 7 percent was above his expectations and consensus estimates of 5 percent. 

The analyst added that comp growth was distributed across all dayparts, geographies and platforms (food and beverage), while demonstrating strong growth during peak times, which implies additional room for capacity. 

Food contributed 2 percent to the comps (in-line with recent trends), while new premium beverage products drove average check growth. 

Looking forward to fiscal 2016, Bernstein sees mobile order and pay being a "key initiative" to support accelerated comp growth. As such, the company can return to a "beat and raise" scenario in years past.

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Note to the Granddaughters

I don't know when I first posted a note about Tinker Tailor but this may have been the first note, back in February, 2015. I finally finished the book. I would not have understood it, and I probably would not have enjoyed it, had I not seen the motion picture. It's an incredible story. The book was a spy thriller, I suppose, simply a spy thriller, nothing more, nothing less. But the screen play adaptation was incredible -- changed it into a love story. It was very, very clever.

I will now re-read the book, probably come close to re-typing the whole thing but in a manner differently than how I re-typed Virginia Woolf's The Waves and Mrs Dalloway. I typed Mrs Dalloway in free verse; took about six months, typing a couple of hours every day or so.

I'm also reading George Bird Grinnell's 2008 The Cheyenne Indians. I've read a lot of books on the Plains Indians, but this may be the best so far. It's funny how things work out. I will enjoy The Cheyenne Indians having just read a throwaway (in a sense), The Origin of Tepees, which I've talked about before, including here.

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Winners

Our older granddaughter is in sixth grade, first year of middle school. She was a member of a small team that competed at the local level (won) and through the wickets, eventually took first place at state level, Texas. The team now goes to Iowa to compete internationally. The class was "Community Problem Solving." Their project had to do with animal shelters. It would be very similar to "Community Organizing 101." I'm hoping to see a press release so I know more about it. The details are sketchy, now surprising, coming from a sixth grader and her mother (our older daughter). LOL.

Here the team is in Austin posing for pictures; the event was held in the Doubletree, so I am not sure if this is in the Doubletree or the Capitol; probably the Doubletree. The picture was taken yesterday, Saturday. Today, Sunday, they will receive their medals.