Edible Apple

Barron’s reports on a new research report from Stifel Nicolaus analyst Douglas Reid who recently raised his holiday quarter EPS estimate for Apple from $4.93 to $5.21.

… “following recent store checks and industry data that suggest Mac, iPad and iPhones are tracking above our previous estimates.” He inches up his iPad unit forecast to 6.6 million units from 6.5 million, boosting his FY 2011 forecast to 22.5 million units from 22.1 million. For iPhones, he now expects the company to sell 9 million units in the quarter, up from 8.4 million. His Mac forecast goes to 4.27 million units from 4.13 million.

During the same quarter a year-ago, Apple reported earnings of $3.67 per dilluted share. The jump from $3.67 to $5.21 is not insignificant, but remember that at this time a year-ago, the iPad was nothing more than a rumor and the most recent iteration of the iPhone was the 3GS, which while a solid phone, was nowhere near the upgrade from the 3G that the iPhone 4 was from the 3GS. It’s amazing what a difference a year makes.