By Danielle Kaye

(Reuters) – Apple Inc (NASDAQ) managed pandemic-related supply chains issues more efficiently than its rivals at 2021’s end. This likely helped the iPhone maker exceed Wall Street revenue growth targets by 6% according to some analysts.

Apple is expected to report quarterly earnings Thursday. Several analysts said that Apple was supported by iPhone 13 sales worldwide, China sales, and the continued growth of Mac shipments.

Watch the earnings of Apple and Tesla (NASDAQ) to find out if the stock market reacts to the recent sell-off which has seen the value of the tech sector plummet by nearly $3 Trillion. Fears that the Fed would raise interest rates aggressively, and reduce the earnings potential of tech companies are driving investors to dump them. Many are worried that the current surge in home-tech buying won’t last long as economic conditions improve.

Canalys analyst Nicole Peng said, “We anticipate Apple to reach its highest China market share since Apple entered China in 2008.”

Wedbush Securities predicts iPhone record sales, exceeding 40,000,000 units between Black Friday and Christmas. Morgan Stanley The NYSE estimates that holiday quarter iPhone sales will reach 83 million. This is a 4 percent increase over the year before.

Wall Street analysts predict Apple to report $118.7billion in revenue. This represents 6.48% annual growth and quarterly earnings per shares of $1.89 according to Eikon data, as of Tuesday.

Apple posted a rare revenue miss in the fiscal quarter ended Sept. 25, which Chief Executive Tim Cook https://www.reuters.com/technology/apple-results-hit-by-supply-chain-woes-cook-says-holiday-quarter-impact-will-be-2021-10-28 attributed to pandemic-related supply constraints and manufacturing disruptions that together cost the company an estimated $6 billion in sales.

Cook predicted a larger holiday quarter drop than expected, however analysts foresee strong growth relative to the competition in this quarter. It began just days after Apple shipped the iPhone 13.

“Since Apple has many customized components going into the iPhones, Macs, Apple Watch and others and the scale (volume and price) at which it procures, Apple has been able to lock-in suppliers’ capacities to timely produce those parts with lesser delays,” said Neil Shah of Counterpoint Research.

Shah said that Apple’s iPhones are in high demand since the 2015 “supercycle”.

In a research note, Angelo Zino, CFRA Research, stated that smaller rivals are having difficulty keeping up with Apple’s production. This has led to Apple’s market share gains in China and other regions.

Apple claims that iPads will be the only product it sells with lower sales this year than last due to shortages. Analysts believe Apple prioritized iPhone units over components.

IDC’s preliminary holiday quarter data indicates that Mac shipments grew by nearly 9%, while the overall PC market experienced a slight increase of 1%.

Analysts downplayed concerns regarding the Omicron variants surge. They said closing some retail outlets would not have an impact on Apple’s heavily online-based business. Apple’s production may be negatively impacted by Omicron-related cases rising in China. Analysts are also monitoring for such signs.

Apple, the first company worth $3 trillion https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/apple-gets-closer-3-trillion-market-value-2022-01-03, has been losing value along with the broader stock market. Apple stock dropped 10% in this month, while the broader market has lost 9%.

Analysts may also ask Apple management about App Store payment rules, after regulators in the Netherlands found that the U.S. company had abused its market dominance https://www.reuters.com/technology/dutch-watchdog-fines-apple-5-mln-euros-failure-comply-app-store-2022-01-24 by requiring dating app developers to exclusively use Apple’s in-app payment system.