Ahead of the Bell: Apple to report earnings
SEATTLE — Wall Street will weigh in Tuesday on Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs' announcement that he will take a medical leave of absence to focus on his health.
The news came Monday when U.S. markets were closed. In premarket trading Tuesday, Apple shares dropped nearly 5 percent.
Apple is also set to report quarterly earnings after the closing bell Tuesday.
Apple said Monday that Jobs, who suffered from a rare form of pancreatic cancer and who had a liver transplant in 2009, will remain CEO while Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook will oversee day-to-day business. The company did not give any further details about Jobs' health or say how long he might be absent from the company.
More details from Apple aren't likely during the conference call with analysts after the earnings are announced.
Holiday shopping likely boosted Apple's results for September through December, with strong sales expected across its product line. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expect Apple to report first-quarter net income of $5.42 per share on $24.35 billion in revenue.
Apple investors tend to sell after earnings if Apple meets or beats expectations by a small margin, as they are accustomed to Apple trouncing analyst expectations. Combined with news of additional health woes for the iconic CEO, which has also prompted investors to dump shares in the past, this could mean bad news for Apple's stock in after-hours trading Tuesday and beyond.
Before the market opened, Apple shares were down $17.28 to $331.20.