Apple Earnings: The Mother of All Reports (Update 2)

Apple is a company and a stock that has legions of both fans and foes, akin to your favorite rock band or sports team. It's unlike most other companies out there. With shares falling over 20% in the past three months, perhaps the naysayers have gotten a bit too big for their britches, and there could be upside surprise for this quarter and next.

Options are pricing in about a 5.5% move following the report, notes options specialist Adam Warner. Warner also noted that the open interest (the total number of options) are way skewed towards calls, especially for a downtrending stock.

AAPL data by YCharts

Societe Generale analyst Andy Perkins believes that average selling price (ASP) has spiked around the world for handsets, and much of that is due to Apple and the iPhone 5, which could alleviate gross margin concerns. "We believe that much of this surprisingly robust performance in ASPs can be traced back to Apple. Additionally, our channel checks suggest that ordering patterns for the new Apple iPhone 5 and previous models remain robust," Perkins wrote, in a research note. If that is indeed the case, gross margin concerns may be overblown for the world's largest technology company.

Qualcomm (QCOM) also made the case that ASPs had improved during its most recent earnings call. With Qualcomm so closely tied to Apple, perhaps gross margin concerns are a bit overblown.

We'll find out after the close whether gross margins and guidance will boost the iPhone maker, or whether Apple's losing its shine.

--Written by Chris Ciaccia in New York

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