When Apple reports results on Tuesday, investors will seek insight into upcoming new iPhones and how the current flagship iPhone X is performing.
They also want executives’ latest thoughts on the growing trade dispute between the US and China.
The California-based technology giant is expected to announce fiscal third-quarter revenue of $52.3 billion, according to analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. That’s in line with the company’s recent forecast and translates to year-over-year revenue growth of about 15 per cent, the strongest for Apple’s June quarter since 2015. Higher iPhone average selling prices, increased services revenue, and unit sales growth for the Apple Watch should drive the expansion, analysts say.
Apple sold about 41.8 million iPhones in the third quarter, up almost 2 per cent from a year earlier, according to Toni Sacconaghi, an analyst at Sanford C Bernstein. Because of the $1,000 iPhone X starting price, analysts on average are expecting iPhone revenue to grow about 17 per cent year-over-year, Mr Sacconaghi said in a recent note. He’s looking for an average iPhone price of $690, up from $606 in the year-ago quarter.
Steady sales growth like this suggests consumers are still buying iPhones despite expectations that Apple, for the sixth year in a row, will revamp its smartphone line-up in or around September.
Investors and analysts will also be closely watching Apple’s fiscal fourth-quarter outlook. This is the period when new iPhones are often unveiled. Analysts see September quarter revenue of about $59.5bn, which would represent 15 per cent year-over-year growth.
Apple’s fourth-quarter forecast will give clues to when the new iPhones will debut, according to Shannon Cross of Cross Research. Last year, the iPhone X was unveiled in November, later than usual.
"We’re looking for 3 per cent growth this quarter, 1 percent growth next quarter, and flat growth next year, leading analysts to model for the iPhone growth story coming to a close," said Gene Munster, a veteran Apple analyst and co-founder of Loup Ventures. He sees annual iPhone unit growth of zero to 5 per cent for the next several years.
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Apple’s Services division is expected to pick up the growth baton from iPhones. The company wants Services to be a $50bn business in coming years, and analysts are expecting revenue from this business to top $9bn in the fiscal third quarter, according to Bernstein research.
Apple Music streaming subscriptions and App Store sales should power services growth in 2019. Beyond that, the company’s impending online video offering may bolster the division’s expansion, Mr Munster said.
While Apple is expected to report solid revenue growth, the Trump administration’s simmering trade war with China looms over the company. While products like the iPhone and iPad are designed in the US, they are assembled in China-based factories run by the likes of Hon Hai Precision Industry and Pegatron.
So far, Apple has not publicly been affected by tariffs, and chief executive Tim Cook has expressed optimism about Apple’s fortunes. Still, the executive told US President Donald Trump earlier this year that tariffs "were not the right approach". Analysts will likely ask the CEO about this on Tuesday.
"Apple is going to have to address trade during the earnings call, especially given their extensive involvement in the Chinese supply chain," Ms Cross said. "My guess is that they will emphasize the investments they’re making in the US as that could be their best angle here."
Analysts differ on iPad performance in the fiscal third quarter. Cross Research is predicting iPad unit sales of 12.1 million, while Bernstein sees 10 million. Apple rebooted its iPad strategy recently to focus on high-end Pro models and cheaper versions geared toward the education market.
The company plans new iPad Pros with iPhone X features this year. That could boost iPad sales in the fiscal fourth quarter and the upcoming holiday quarter, depending on when in 2018 the devices are upgraded. Bernstein is predicting an iPad average selling price of $440 in the fiscal fourth quarter, suggesting the cheaper models will be more popular. IPad Pro prices range from $649 to $1,279, while the low-cost model ranges from $329 to $559.
Apple’s Other Products segment, one of the company’s fastest growing, includes the Apple Watch, AirPods, HomePod, Apple TV, and accessories like the iPad’s detachable keyboard. Bernstein expects revenue from the category to jump 40 percent year-over-year to $3.8bn in the fiscal third quarter. The company is planning its first full Apple Watch redesign and new AirPods later this year, Bloomberg News has reported.
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 582bhp
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Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
'My Son'
Director: Christian Carion
Starring: James McAvoy, Claire Foy, Tom Cullen, Gary Lewis
Rating: 2/5
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
Attacks on Egypt’s long rooted Copts
Egypt’s Copts belong to one of the world’s oldest Christian communities, with Mark the Evangelist credited with founding their church around 300 AD. Orthodox Christians account for the overwhelming majority of Christians in Egypt, with the rest mainly made up of Greek Orthodox, Catholics and Anglicans.
The community accounts for some 10 per cent of Egypt’s 100 million people, with the largest concentrations of Christians found in Cairo, Alexandria and the provinces of Minya and Assiut south of Cairo.
Egypt’s Christians have had a somewhat turbulent history in the Muslim majority Arab nation, with the community occasionally suffering outright persecution but generally living in peace with their Muslim compatriots. But radical Muslims who have first emerged in the 1970s have whipped up anti-Christian sentiments, something that has, in turn, led to an upsurge in attacks against their places of worship, church-linked facilities as well as their businesses and homes.
More recently, ISIS has vowed to go after the Christians, claiming responsibility for a series of attacks against churches packed with worshippers starting December 2016.
The discrimination many Christians complain about and the shift towards religious conservatism by many Egyptian Muslims over the last 50 years have forced hundreds of thousands of Christians to migrate, starting new lives in growing communities in places as far afield as Australia, Canada and the United States.
Here is a look at major attacks against Egypt's Coptic Christians in recent years:
November 2: Masked gunmen riding pickup trucks opened fire on three buses carrying pilgrims to the remote desert monastery of St. Samuel the Confessor south of Cairo, killing 7 and wounding about 20. IS claimed responsibility for the attack.
May 26, 2017: Masked militants riding in three all-terrain cars open fire on a bus carrying pilgrims on their way to the Monastery of St. Samuel the Confessor, killing 29 and wounding 22. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack.
April 2017: Twin attacks by suicide bombers hit churches in the coastal city of Alexandria and the Nile Delta city of Tanta. At least 43 people are killed and scores of worshippers injured in the Palm Sunday attack, which narrowly missed a ceremony presided over by Pope Tawadros II, spiritual leader of Egypt Orthodox Copts, in Alexandria's St. Mark's Cathedral. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attacks.
February 2017: Hundreds of Egyptian Christians flee their homes in the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula, fearing attacks by ISIS. The group's North Sinai affiliate had killed at least seven Coptic Christians in the restive peninsula in less than a month.
December 2016: A bombing at a chapel adjacent to Egypt's main Coptic Christian cathedral in Cairo kills 30 people and wounds dozens during Sunday Mass in one of the deadliest attacks carried out against the religious minority in recent memory. ISIS claimed responsibility.
July 2016: Pope Tawadros II says that since 2013 there were 37 sectarian attacks on Christians in Egypt, nearly one incident a month. A Muslim mob stabs to death a 27-year-old Coptic Christian man, Fam Khalaf, in the central city of Minya over a personal feud.
May 2016: A Muslim mob ransacks and torches seven Christian homes in Minya after rumours spread that a Christian man had an affair with a Muslim woman. The elderly mother of the Christian man was stripped naked and dragged through a street by the mob.
New Year's Eve 2011: A bomb explodes in a Coptic Christian church in Alexandria as worshippers leave after a midnight mass, killing more than 20 people.
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
8 UAE companies helping families reduce their carbon footprint
Greenheart Organic Farms
This Dubai company was one of the country’s first organic farms, set up in 2012, and it now delivers a wide array of fruits and vegetables grown regionally or in the UAE, as well as other grocery items, to both Dubai and Abu Dhabi doorsteps.
www.greenheartuae.com
Modibodi
Founded in Australia, Modibodi is now in the UAE with waste-free, reusable underwear that eliminates the litter created by a woman’s monthly cycle, which adds up to approximately 136kgs of sanitary waste over a lifetime.
www.modibodi.ae
The Good Karma Co
From brushes made of plant fibres to eco-friendly storage solutions, this company has planet-friendly alternatives to almost everything we need, including tin foil and toothbrushes.
www.instagram.com/thegoodkarmaco
Re:told
One Dubai boutique, Re:told, is taking second-hand garments and selling them on at a fraction of the price, helping to cut back on the hundreds of thousands of tonnes of clothes thrown into landfills each year.
www.shopretold.com
Lush
Lush provides products such as shampoo and conditioner as package-free bars with reusable tins to store.
www.mena.lush.com
Bubble Bro
Offering filtered, still and sparkling water on tap, Bubble Bro is attempting to ensure we don’t produce plastic or glass waste. Founded in 2017 by Adel Abu-Aysha, the company is on track to exceeding its target of saving one million bottles by the end of the year.
www.bubble-bro.com
Coethical
This company offers refillable, eco-friendly home cleaning and hygiene products that are all biodegradable, free of chemicals and certifiably not tested on animals.
www.instagram.com/coethical
Eggs & Soldiers
This bricks-and-mortar shop and e-store, founded by a Dubai mum-of-four, is the place to go for all manner of family products – from reusable cloth diapers to organic skincare and sustainable toys.
www.eggsnsoldiers.com
Last 10 NBA champions
2017: Golden State bt Cleveland 4-1
2016: Cleveland bt Golden State 4-3
2015: Golden State bt Cleveland 4-2
2014: San Antonio bt Miami 4-1
2013: Miami bt San Antonio 4-3
2012: Miami bt Oklahoma City 4-1
2011: Dallas bt Miami 4-2
2010: Los Angeles Lakers bt Boston 4-3
2009: Los Angeles Lakers bt Orlando 4-1
2008: Boston bt Los Angeles Lakers 4-2
The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now
Company%20Profile
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