Apple Inc. reports earnings after market close Wednesday marking one of the few occasions when the “most important quarter in the company’s history!” hype may be justified. Once everyone’s market darling, in the post-Jobs era Apple stock has been under increasing pressure.

In aggregate, Apple is expected to report profits of $13.57 (U.S.) per share on sales of $54.88-billion. Under the surface, three aspects of the report will be pivotal to the outlook for what is still the world’s largest company by market capitalization: