Top Apple Analyst Dan Ives Thinks Earnings Will Be a 'Flex the Muscles Moment' For Company

Apple  (AAPL) - Get Free Report is set to close out Big Tech's earning season when it reports after the bell Wednesday. Apple, the largest company in the world, surpassed a $3 trillion valuation several weeks ago; the tech giant's stock is up 48% for the year so far. 

Despite the company's proven resilience against difficult macroeconomic factors, Apple has reported two straight quarters of declining revenue, something that has investors and analysts divided on what to expect from Cupertino.

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But Wedbush's Dan Ives, who rated Apple at "Outperform" with a $220 price target, thinks that Apple's coming earnings will simply be "another flex the muscles moment" for CEO Tim Cook. 

Ives believes that iPhone revenues will be in line, "with upside likely," amid growing "upgrade" excitement around the newest iPhone. 

"We would expect relatively conservative September guidance as this is all about the drumroll to the main event with the anniversary iPhone 15 launch slated for the mid-September timeframe," Ives said, adding that around a quarter of the current iPhone base hasn't upgraded in more than four years, something that could lead to a "steadier transition" from the iPhone 14 to iPhone 15. 

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Analysts polled by Refinitiv, meanwhile, anticipate that iPhone sales are likely to fall for the quarter, and revenue along with it. Wall Street is expecting Apple's total revenue for the quarter will be $81.55 billion, down from the $82.96 billion it reported last year, with adjusted earnings per share pegged at $1.20. 

Ives has been bullish on Apple for a while now. He said in June that he expects the company will be worth more than $4 trillion by 2025, in large part, due to the company's "golden install base."

"At the end of the day, Apple continues to play chess while others are playing checkers," he said at the time. "We believe the new bull market in tech has begun. We see tech stocks up another 15% second half of the year."