Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) headed into its fiscal 2021 first quarter with higher expectations from investors

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) headed into its fiscal 2021 very first quarter with expectations which are high from investors. The highlight of Apple’s quarter was the launch of the iPhone 12, the tech titan’s first 5G smartphone. Investors anticipated strong sales as wireless carriers force their 5G networks and build excitement around the new iPhones. All signs indicate Apple’s delivered on those expectations.

Here are three of the most noteworthy developments bolstering Apple’s stock heading into its earnings report later this month.

1. You will still need to wait forever to get an iPhone twelve Pro
It has been more than 2 weeks since Apple released the iPhone 12 Pro, and clients purchasing today still need to wait as many as three weeks for shipping and delivery. Which should be for decades in the era of next-day shipping. By comparison, it took only 6 weeks for iPhone 11 demand to achieve equilibrium with supply last year, according to Credit Suisse analyst Matthew Cabral. The Apple iPhone 12 Pro seen from an angle.

The standard iPhone 12 as well as the iPhone twelve Mini are much more readily available both in-store and for instant shipping. Which suggests Apple must see an improved average selling price (ASP) for the iPhone when it announces the first quarter benefits of its.

Apple is reportedly ramping up production for the iPhone 12 in the very first half of 2021. Combined with other factors suggesting very strong iPhone sales for the quarter, the taller ASP should lead to iPhone revenue greatly outperforming. And considering iPhone accounts for 50 % of revenue, and typically closer to sixty % in the earliest quarter, that need to have a significant impact on its revenue versus expectations.

2. Suppliers are publishing big profits numbers
Apple’s biggest iPhone assembler, Foxconn, announced record revenue for the month of December. The Taiwanese business, which trades as Hon Hai Precision, reported sales of 713.8 billion New Taiwan dollars (aproximatelly $25.5 billion) for December, and quarterly revenue of NT$two trillion. That beat expectations of NT$1.8 trillion, as reported by Bloomberg.

Foxconn’s outperformance is in addition in line with the greater-than-expected demand for the iPhone twelve Pro. The business enterprise is the exclusive supplier of the high end devices.

Meanwhile, Dialog Semiconductor raised its fourth quarter revenue perspective from a range of $380 million to $430 million to between $436 million and $441 million, Barron’s reports. The chipmaker cited increased demand for 5G chips as the main reason. Considering Apple accounts for the vast majority of its revenue, it’s a really good bet those potato chips are going in iPhone 12s.

And in late December, Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives said his Asia source chain checks “have today exceeded actually our’ bull case scenario'” in a note to investors.

3. New files in the App Store
Apple reported record gross sales for its App Store in the annual brand new year of its update. In the week between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, iOS users spent $1.8 billion in the App Store. That’s up twenty seven % from year which is previous, plus an acceleration from the sixteen % growth in sales of the exact same time in 2019. The company also recorded $540 million in sales on New Year’s Day, up almost forty % from previous year. Those numbers suggest a great deal of new iPhones underneath the tree this season.

It also bodes very well for Apple’s all important services segment — its highest-margin and fastest-growing business. The App Store is actually Apple’s most lucrative service, generating gross profits well above its membership services like Apple Music or Apple TV. So outperformance on that front must cause better-than-expected earnings.

Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty notes, “If we keep the remainder of our December quarter Apple Services forecast unchanged, the new App Store data would imply December quarter Services revenue of $14.84 [billion]… 40 [basis points] in advance of consensus at $14.78 [billion].” It’s quite possible, nevertheless, that stronger App Store sales are a good indication of stronger sales of Apple’s other services.

It looks like the iPhone supercycle might be a reality this season based on the early results we have seen along with other hints at strong need. And that’ll bolster Apple’s whole company — and also the FAANG stock — when it reports the full results of its on Jan. 27.