2 Numbers Apple Stock Investors Should Know Ahead of Earnings

By Tim Beyers – Oct 21, 2013 at 3:00PM

NASDAQ: AAPL

Apple

Market Cap

$2,594B

Today's Change

(-0.81%) -$1.38

Current Price

$168.00

Price as of April 17, 2024, 4:00 p.m. ET

iPhone and iPad unit sales will be under the microscope when the Mac maker reports.

Two numbers could drive Apple (AAPL -0.81%) stock when the company reports earnings on Oct. 28, Fool contributor Tim Beyers says in the following video.

The keys are in iPhones and iPads, Tim says. Analysts are likely to have high hopes for handset sales. After all, the Apple moved 9 million iPhone 5s and 5c models during their first weekend on sale. Apple sold 26.9 million iPhones in last year's fiscal fourth quarter.

Investors shouldn't hope for nearly as much growth on the iPad side of the ledger, Tim says. Wall Street appears to be modeling for no more than 15 million Apple tablets sold in the quarter, a modest improvement over last year's 14 million.

That won't be a problem so long as iPhone sales show substantial year-over-year growth. And if they don't? Can Apple stock still rally? Tim addresses that question and more in the video. Please watch now and then leave a comment to let us know what you think.

Fool contributor Tim Beyers is a member of the Motley Fool Rule Breakers stock-picking team and the Motley Fool Supernova Odyssey I mission. He owned shares of Apple at the time of publication. Check out Tim's web home and portfolio holdings or connect with him on Google+, Tumblr, or Twitter, where he goes by @milehighfool. You can also get his insights delivered directly to your RSS reader.

The Motley Fool recommends Apple. The Motley Fool owns shares of Apple. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.