Earnings

Apple earnings expected Wednesday night

A man uses his phone as he walks past an Apple store in Hong Kong.
Anthony Wallace | AFP | Getty Images

Analysts expect the company to report earnings excluding items of $10.18 a share on $43.51 billion in revenue, according to a consensus estimate from Thomson Reuters.

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Apple is expected to release its next generation iPhone in the fall, according to various news reports, although Taiwan's Industrial and Commercial Times reported Tuesday that the 5.5-inch version of the device will be delayed until 2015 because of battery issues.

Apple did not respond to CNBC's request for comment on the report.

Analysts also expect the firm to debut a wearable product, possibly an iWatch, during the second half of this year.

The technology darling needs to prove it can still wow shoppers with "creative leaps" in its mobile phone business, said former Apple CEO, John Sculley, on Wednesday. "What's interesting is we're coming up this fall on three years of Tim Cook serving as CEO since Steve Jobs died, and this may be the time ... for his first creative leap with a product that is truly different from something he inherited from Steve."

As of Tuesday's close, the tech giant's shares had gained more than 30 percent over the last 12 months.