June-Quarter iPhone Sales Predicted as High as 50 Million

As Apple is preparing to release its June-quarter earnings later today after the markets close, Fortune’s Philip Elmer-DeWitt has gathered the best sales forecasts from professional and independent analysts. As it turns out, analysts are confident Apple had a great quarter and expect the company to report the sale of up to 50 million iPhones.

Based on conversations he had with Apple CEO Tim Cook, Stanford C. Bernstein technology analyst A.M. Sacconaghi notes, as cited by Re/code, that demand for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus remains strong. He expects Apple to report iPhones sales of 48.9 million for the June quarter, up from 35.2 million sold during the corresponding period last year.

From DeWitt’s chart we see that independent analysts from The Braeburn Group are setting the bar high at 53 million units, but Horace Dediu of Asymco is close with a forecast of 52.8 million iPhones.

In the light of Credit Suisse analyst Kulbinder Garcha’s estimate, Dediu’s number is conservative: he estimates a record 56.28 million units for the June quarter. We should note, however, that Garcha is the only one with such a high forecast. Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray takes a more “skeptical” approach, predicting “only” 46 million units.

Who got it right? Well, we will find out shortly.