Apple Q4 Earnings Preview: Goldman Sachs Analyst Anticipates Big Earnings Beat, Resilient iPhone 16 Demand

A Goldman Sachs analyst has forecasted stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter results for Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) ahead of its Oct. 31 release.

The Apple Analyst: Analyst Michael Ng reiterated a Buy rating on Apple and maintained its price target at $275.

Earnings Preview: Ng is bullish on Apple’s potential to beat earnings expectations in the short term. For the quarter, the analyst projects earnings-per-share of $1.61, higher than Wall Street’s consensus of $1.57. Ng also projects revenue of $94.5 billion, higher than the consensus $93.6 billion.

iPhone Takeaways: Ng cited the continued demand for older models of the iPhone as a plus. He also mentioned the demand for the newly released iPhone 16 as perhaps better than initially thought.

“iPhone 16 demand has been relatively stable year-over-year and better-than-feared given more cautious data points around shorter lead-times relative to year-ago and production cuts,” the analyst said.

Also Read: Nvidia Back On Top: Edges Out Apple As AI Demand Drives Market Surge

Apple Intelligence Takeaways: Ng sees Apple’s foray into artificial intelligence as a “long-term demand driver.” Apple has opted for a slow rollout of Apple Intelligence.

“We believe that as more features exclusive to 15 Pro/Pro Max and the 16-series get released, users should be driven to upgrade their iPhones,” Ng said.

Services Takeaways: Apple’s strength in its services segment serves as justification for Ng’s bullishness on the company.

The analyst acknowledged that product revenue growth has slowed but insisted that the market is underestimating the continued viability of the Apple ecosystem.

“Apple's installed base growth, secular growth in services, and new product innovation should more than offset cyclical headwinds to product revenue, such as a reduced iPhone unit demand due to a lengthening replacement cycle and reduced consumer demand for the PC & tablet category,” Ng said.

The analyst also believes that Apple TV+’s apparent decision to shorten theatrical release windows in favor of a quicker rollout to streaming is driving subscriptions.

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