Earnings Smackdown

Mac set to outgrow the Windows market for 25th quarter in a row

PC sales have stalled, but most analysts believe Mac unit sales grew 12% to 14% last quarter

FORTUNE -- According to Gartner and IDC, the worldwide personal computer market -- including both Microsoft (MSFT) Windows PCs and Apple (AAPL) Macs -- shrank by 0.1% in the June quarter, although the two research firms disagree about whether Mac sales grew or not. (See here.)

Our panel of 61 analysts -- 27 from Wall MORE

How many iPhones did Apple sell last quarter?

The estimates range from 27 to 38.5 million. The best analysts' consensus: 32.1 million

FORTUNE -- In a note to clients Friday Wedge Partners' Brian Blair warned that the Street's expectations for Apple's (AAPL) iPhone sales in the June quarter might be getting dangerously out of line.

"In January," he wrote, "Apple reported a monstrous 37 million units for the December quarter, followed by an almost equally strong March quarter of 35 million MORE

How many iPads did Apple sell last quarter? (updated)

The estimates range from 12.7 to 24 million. The best analysts' consensus: 18.75 million

FORTUNE -- iPad unit sales. That's the number that jumps out from the estimates I've gathered so far for Apple's (AAPL) third fiscal quarter of 2012, which ended June 30th.

There's more to come, but as of Monday, July 9, I've seen 61 estimates -- 28 from the professionals who cover Apple for banks and brokerage houses and MORE

Apple to announce Q3 2012 earnings July 24 at 5 p.m. ET

Expected to easily beat guidance. iPad sales should up a lot, iPhones down a bit.

FORTUNE -- Following a pattern that has become familiar to hard-core Apple (AAPL) watchers, the company announced today that it has scheduled its earnings call for the third fiscal quarter of 2012 on the first Tuesday three weeks after the last Saturday of the quarter, which ended June 30.

Got that? If so, you should already know that the MORE

Apple Q2: Misses high and low, but the best bloggers nailed it

Independent analysts take the top 8 spots in our quarterly earnings smackdown

FORTUNE -- Neither side scored a clear victory this time around. The professional analysts as a group were far too cautious. And our expanded cadre of independents showed signs of irrational exuberance.

But the list at right, which ranks 57 Apple (AAPL) analysts by the accuracy of their fiscal Q2 2012 revenue and earnings estimates, shows that the independents have MORE

Can Tuesday's earnings report reverse Apple's 2-week slide?

Wall Street expects record results. The independent analysts are calling for a blowout

FORTUNE -- Savvy Apple (AAPL) investors know that the company's share price often gets dragged down in advance of its quarterly earnings reports -- only to spring back even higher when Apple delivers its usual earnings surprises. (See Cocking the Apple slingshot.)

But the stock's collapse over the past two weeks has even veteran traders scratching their heads. It MORE

How many Macs did Apple sell last quarter?

Estimates range from 4.3 to 4.85 million. The best analysts' consensus: 4.64 million

FORTUNE -- Compared with Apple's (AAPL) iOS devices -- the iPhone and the iPad -- the Mac is a turtle. Slow and steady has characterized its growth rate since the launch of the iPhone -- an average of 26% year over year for the past five years.

This time, with no new Mac introductions to boost sales in the MORE

How many iPads (new and old) did Apple sell last quarter?

The estimates range from 9 to 15.6 million. The best analysts' consensus: 11 million

FORTUNE -- Anybody who tells you they know how many iPads Apple (AAPL) sold in the quarter that ended March 31 is either lying or privy to inside information.

This increasingly important data point -- the iPad accounted for 20% of Apple's revenue in Q1, second only to the iPhone (53%) -- is devilishly hard to predict, especially MORE

Pros vs. Indies on Apple's Q2 2012: A $6.8 billion gap

The difference in their quarterly forecasts has never been so great

In the three and a half years that I've been pitting the analysts who cover Apple (AAPL) for Wall Street against the growing cadre of independent analysts who do it for fun (and, presumably, their own profit), I've never seen a gap this big -- either in dollar or percentage terms.

According to Thomson/First Call, the published consensus of 42 professional analysts MORE

Who first called Apple at $500?

Technically, it was Hudson Square's Daniel Ernst. But we have a few caveats.

Eyebrows were raised in October 2010 when Daniel Ernst hiked his 12-month Apple (AAPL) price target from $300 a share to $500. But perhaps drawing attention to himself was the point. The senior analyst at Hudson Square Research is now a regular contributor on CNBC and his current price target -- $700 -- is once again the Street's MORE