To put it mildly, 2013 was a lackluster year for Apple (AAPL -0.60%) shareholders.
After falling off a cliff in the first half of the year, Apple's stock clawed its way back from deep in negative territory to end the year barely above breakeven. At the same time, the tech-heavy Nasdaq had one of its best years in recent memory.
Apple could be poised to play a little catch-up with the soaring stock market when it reports its calendar year Q4 '13 earnings on Monday.
What to expect when Apple reports
By most accounts, Apple should report yet another record-setting quarter this quarter as sales for both its newly updated iPhones and iPad remained at the top of consumers' wishlists this holiday season.
So should that translate with Apple's financials?
Analysts are calling for Apple's sales to grow roughly 5% and earnings per share to increase only a paltry 2%. This in part reflects how truly difficult it is to generate meaningful growth for a company of Apple's massive size.
In the video below, tech and telecom analyst Andrew Tonner looks at the key figures and story lines that investors should be on the lookout for when Apple reports on Monday.
