Ahead of the Bell: Apple to report 3Q results

SEATTLE - Apple Inc., maker of the iPod and the iPhone, is set to report fiscal third-quarter earnings after the closing bell Tuesday.

Analysts expect the Cupertino, Calif.-based company to post a profit of $1.17 per share on $8.2 billion in sales. That's 2 cents less than the same quarter last year, but about $700 million more in revenue.

Apple launched a new iPhone during the three-month period that ended on June 27, and cut laptop prices, moves analysts think will help bolster sales despite the economic downturn. Higher prices for LCD screens and memory are expected to weigh on Apple's profit.

Shaw Wu, a Kaufman Bros. analyst, said he'll be looking at whether shoppers favored Apple's high-end, more expensive gadgets or stuck to the lower-priced ones during the quarter to get a sense of where the economy is headed.

Shares of Apple, which are up 79 percent in the year to date, closed Monday at $152.91.

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