Barclays on U.S. IT Hardware: IT Hardware Earnings Guide: April C1Q Solid for Most, but Guidance Key

Barclays on U.S. IT Hardware: IT Hardware Earnings Guide: April C1Q Solid for Most, but Guidance Key

"Many IT Hardware Companies report C1Q results soon. We expect generally solid quarters; guidance and tone around Japan and components into C2Q are key."

IBM (NYSE: IBM) (4/19) - Momentum in Mainframe, Seeking Guidance on Japan: We believe IBM will report upside to the March quarter helped by its mainframe business and execution in software (with help from acquisitions as well). Another focus will likely be on Japan and Japan's impact on IBM's results (Japan=11% of IBM revenues, highest in sector).

Seagate (NYSE: STX) (4/19) - End of Quarter Surge Helps Results: We believe that Seagate's positive pre-announcement from last Thursday shows that HDD makers benefited from acceleration at the end of the quarter, as customers sought supply to prepare for potential shortages that could arise from the Japan quake.

EMC (NYSE: EMC) (4/20) - Expecting Some Upside due to High-end Strength: Checks indicate that EMC's 1Q11 sales may be tracking slightly above consensus of $4.5 billion, and we wouldn't be surprised to see at least a penny of EPS upside given the strong uptake rates for EMC's FAST 2 as well as benefits from the recent buy of Isilon.

Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) (4/20) - Expecting Solid Quarter and Conservative Guide: Apple is likely to post material EPS upside on strong revenues and iPad/iPhone upside vs. estimates. Guidance is likely to be quite conservative; gross margin guide may be 35-36%.

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