Apple expected to see drop in Q4 and annual revenues

Apple Inc. will report fourth-quarter and full-year earnings after the close of trading Tuesday, with analysts expecting the tech giant to report a third straight quarterly revenue drop and its first drop in annual revenue in 15 years.

Markets will also be looking for any indications on sales of the iPhone 7, which hit the market two weeks before the company closed its books on the fourth quarter on Sept. 24., and Apple's revenue forecast for current quarter, which will include holiday-season sales.

The consensus of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters is for Apple to make $1.65 US a share in earnings.

The company is expected to report revenue of $46.9 billion US, off from $51.5 billion in the same quarter of last year.

For the full year, the company is expected to say it had revenue of $215.6 billion US.

Sales of the iPhone, which accounts for a majority of Apple's revenues, will be a key number to watch. Apple hasn't offered any early sales figures on the iPhone 7, and analysts are forecasting that Apple sold about 45 million units during its fourth quarter, according to FactSet, down about three million from the same period a year ago.

The results may show iPhone sales got an unexpected bump from the recall of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 over battery fire issues.

For the current quarter, FactSet says analysts expect the company to report revenue of $74.9 billion US, off about $1 billion US from the prior year. IPhone sales are expected to come in at 75 million units.

Market watchers are also turning their attention down the road as media reports suggest the next iPhone is expected to arrive in the fall of 2017 — coinciding with the tenth anniversary of the device — and bring more changes than the iPhone 7 did. Analysts are already suggesting expectations are for a revenue pop from the company's next smartphone upgrade.