Apple’s Momentum Points to Another Big Quarter

Apple’s shares broke $300 for the first time last week, pushing its market cap to well past $280 billion–second only to that of oil behemoth Exxon Mobil. Should the company’s rally continue, it won’t be long before it overtakes Exxon on the Standard and Poor’s 500.

And there’s no reason at all to think that it won’t. Apple is scheduled to report its fourth quarter results today after the bell, and by most accounts it will be another blowout. Consensus among analysts seems to be that strong sales of the iPhone 4, the iPad and the Mac will push Apple’s earnings per share to $4.05 on revenue of $18.8 billion–quite a leap over the earnings of $1.82 per share on revenue of $9.87 billion the company posted during the same period last year.

And according to some analysts, this quarter’s leap may well leave the company poised for an even higher one in the next quarter. Said UBS analyst Maynard Um, “With continued momentum in all product lines as well as easing supply constraints for both iPhone and iPad, we see the potential for Apple to surprise to the upside on guidance again.”