Did strong performance for Apple's iPhone continue in Q2?

Apple is scheduled to release actual numbers for earnings and revenues on July 24. In terms of EPS, the company is projected to report $10.38, which reflects growth of 33% compared to year-ago actual EPS of $7.79. In terms of revenues, the company is predicted to report $37.5 billion, which reflects growth of 31% relative to year-ago actual sales of $28.6 billion.

In Q1 2012, Apple reported sales of $39.2 billion, which reflected year-over-year growth of 59%. At the product segment level, the iPhone was the key driver of sales growth for the quarter. This product segment reported revenues of $22.7 billion, which represented year-over-year growth of 85%. In addition, the actual sales number of $22.7 billion was 16.1% above the sales estimate of $19.5 billion. This was the highest upside revenue surprise compared to the mean estimate for any product segment for the quarter.

Is the iPhone product segment expected to see a similar performance in terms of sales in Q2 2012?

Based on current estimates, the iPhone and iPad product segments are again predicted to be the largest contributors to sales growth for Apple in Q2 2012. The IiPhone product segment is projected to report revenue of $18.9 billion, which reflects growth of 42% compared to year-ago sales of $13.3 billion. The iPad product segment is predicted to report revenue of $8.8 billion, which reflects growth of 45% relative to year-ago sales of $6.0 billion. Combined, these two product segments account for 93% of the expected dollar-level revenue growth for Apple in Q2 2012.

However, it is interesting to note that while the current Q2 2012 estimate for iPad sales represents a 32% increase relative to Q1 2012 (on a sequential basis), the current Q2 2012 estimate for sales for the iPhone represents a 16% decline compared to Q1 2012 (on a sequential basis).

So while the iPhone is expected to be the largest contributor to revenue growth for Q2 at the product segment level, it is expecting lower overall sales numbers and lower year-over-year revenue growth relative to the previous quarter.