Sales of the iPhone 5 on launch weekend broke records, as Apple announced it sold 5 million units. However, that amount came in below Wall Streets expectations. Now, analysts react to the figures.
Analyst Gene Munster with Piper Jaffray said the sales shortfall is partially because he and others assumed Apple’s sales figures would include all phones that were preordered online. He believes that would add up to a million additional units to the total sales, as the company quickly sold out of launch-day stock.
Munster also made the suggestion that perhaps Apple rationed its iPhone 5 supply to allow for the device’s launch in 22 additional countries this Friday.
In a note to investors, Brian Marshall with the ISI Group said Apples sales figures don’t take into consideration units that are en route to customers, as Apple must have the signature of delivery acceptance by a customer before the device can be counted as a sale. Therefore, numerous iPhones still in transit to customers have not been included, and would further boost Apple’s sales figures.
Brian White of Topeka Capital Markets also shows little concern about Apple’s iPhone 5 sales in it’s first three days, saying the shortfall was due to availability, and also cited the customers who pre-ordered and are still waiting for delivery,
“We remain aggressive buyers of Apple on any weakness in the stock this morning as we believe Apple has another blockbuster on its hands with the iPhone 5,” White wrote, “and we expect the ‘iPad mini’ to launch in the coming weeks.”
Munster says he believes that Apple will achieve a supply and demand balance by the end of the December quarter, and remains comfortable with his projection of 49 million iPhone sales during the holiday shopping period.
