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Apple's iPhone-centric fourth-quarter earnings set for Oct. 28

The fourth-quarter numbers include an extra week of iPhone sales beyond what the company revealed last month.

Josh Lowensohn Former Senior Writer
Josh Lowensohn joined CNET in 2006 and now covers Apple. Before that, Josh wrote about everything from new Web start-ups, to remote-controlled robots that watch your house. Prior to joining CNET, Josh covered breaking video game news, as well as reviewing game software. His current console favorite is the Xbox 360.
Josh Lowensohn
James Martin/CNET

Apple plans to announce its fourth-quarter financial results on Monday, October 28.

The results will bring a more complete look at Apple's early iPhone 5S and 5C sales, which began September 20. The company's fourth quarter ran through September 28, providing an extra five days of sales information since Apple announced that it had sold 9 million iPhones in its opening weekend.

Apple

That 9 million tally came under scrutiny last month, with some questioning whether Apple was counting end sales to consumers or simply to carriers and other retail partners, which had yet to sell the devices.

Wall Street analysts, on average, expect Apple to report earnings per share of $7.87 on sales of $36.7 billion for the quarter. Last month Apple said it expects to come in "near the high end" of its forecast, which called for sales between $34 billion and $37 billion.

As usual, all eyes will be on the company's iPhone numbers, though also exceedingly at the iPad, which has quickly become Apple's second-best selling product but came in well under what Wall Street was expecting last quarter. That family of devices is expected to be refreshed at an event later this month, with a number of leaks suggesting a slimmer form factor and more colors.