All in all, the recently ended fiscal fourth quarter wasn't a terrible one for (NASDAQ: AAPL). While year-over-year revenue fell (albeit slightly) for a fourth straight quarter, sales of $89.5 billion still topped estimates of $89.3 billion. Per-share earnings of $1.46 beat consensus estimates of $1.39, improving on the year-earlier comparison of $1.29.

It was the forecast for the quarter now underway that sent the stock lower. Although no specific numbers were offered, CFO Luca Maestri painted a clear enough picture by cautioning "We expect our December quarter total company revenue to be similar to last year." Wall Street was calling for sales growth of 5%. Apparently, headwinds in China further fanned the bearish flames.

Before presuming the worst about Apple for the foreseeable future, however, you might want to look past the narrative and dig into the data -- all of it. If not in the final calendar quarter of 2023, there are three reasons 2024 could be -- and should be -- a major turnaround year for the world's biggest company.

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Source Fool.com