Apple And Microsoft Earnings: Mac Vs. PC All Over Again?

The

crunch ramps up this week, and among the many companies expected to share their latest results are a couple of technology sector giants. One-time investors' darling

has stumbled a bit of late, though the iPhone maker still has plenty of ardent fans. And for its fiscal first quarter, Wall Street analysts by and large expect solid results, particularly on the bottom line. Though

seemed to be having something of a resurgence under the leadership of Satya Nadella, the street view on earnings is a bit different than it is for Apple. Is it the old Mac and PC commercials all over again? Below is a closer look at what is expected from the reports of Apple and Microsoft. That is followed by a quick peek at some of the week's other most anticipated tech earnings.

When this tech darling shares its results late Tuesday, the consensus forecast of Estimize is that it will show a profit of $3.27 per share for the fiscal first quarter. That would be up from earnings per share (EPS) of $3.06 in the same period of last year. The Wall Street consensus forecast is $3.23 per share. The company's revenue for the three months that ended in December will be $77.04 billion, or around 3 percent higher year over year, if the 602 survey respondents are correct. Again Wall Street is a bit more pessimistic, with a consensus forecast of $76.67 billion. Both are within the range of company guidance.

Wall Street's fourth-quarter forecast calls for earnings to be the same as in the year ago period: $0.71 per share. That estimate has not changed in the past 60 days. Some 137 Estimize respondents also predict EPS will be flat year over year. EPS handily beat both estimates in the previous quarter, though. Revenue narrowly topped consensus estimates in the previous period. This time, Estimize is looking for about $25.21 billion, essentially in line with the $25.26 billion Wall Street expects. Both estimates are more than 4 percent lower than year-ago revenue. Microsoft y is scheduled to report after Thursday's closing bell.

These are of course not the only tech companies set to share their latest results this week. At least some growth on the bottom line is coming from AT&T, Check Point Software Technologies, Citrix Systems, Facebook, Fortinet, Juniper Networks, KLA-Tencor, Lam Research, Skyworks Solutions and VMware, if Wall Street expectations come true. EPS at Cypress Semiconductor are expected to be the same as a year ago. And earnings declines are predicted for CA, Cirrus Logic, EMC, Qualcomm, SanDisk, Seagate Technology, STMicroelectronics, Texas Instruments, Western Digital and Xerox.