AppleInsider Staff
Analyst Gene Munster with Piper Jaffray said on Monday the latest data from NPD suggests Apple will sell between 4.4 million and 4.6 million Macs in the September quarter. His figures are based on NPD's U.S. data, which tracked Mac sales up 22 percent in July and August.
Munster said August Mac sales benefitted from a full month of Mac OS X Lion being available, after the operating system launched in July. In addition, Mac sales were also strengthened by a tailwind from newly refreshed MacBook Air and Mac mini models.
Looking forward, Munster expects those tailwinds to fade in September, prompting him to leave his estimates the same. Wall Street expects Apple to sell about 4.5 million Macs this quarter, which Munster said aligns with the latest domestic NPD data.
Further, the analyst has estimated that the MacBook Air will represent between 10 percent and 20 percent of total Mac units in the September quarter. The MacBook Air lineup, including the entry-level $999 11.6-inch model, launched with Intel's Sandy Bridge processors and the new high-speed Thunderbolt port in July.
A month ago, the NPD sales figures first revealed that Mac sales were up 26 percent year over year in the month of July. Going forward, it will be difficult for Apple to maintain such year over year growth, as comparisons from 2010 will be less favorable for the company.
Sales of 4.1 million Macs would easily be a record for Apple. The company's previous best came in the holiday quarter of 2010, when 4.1 million Macs were sold.
As for the iPod lineup, Munster said the latest NPD data shows Apple is on track to sell between 7.2 million and 7.7 million units in the September quarter. Sales for the first two months of the quarter were down 16 percent year over year.
Wall Street expects Apple to report sales of about 7 million iPods, which would mean the company is tracking to beat estimates on its portable media players. Piper Jaffray has maintained its "overweight" rating for AAPL stock with a price target of $607.
Charles Martin
Christine McKee
Malcolm Owen
William Gallagher
Oliver Haslam
44 Comments
If I recall, just a few days ago, another analyst claimed that iPhone sales were brisk, but Mac sales would be weak. Investors honestly can't depend on these analysts for anything solid when covering Apple. They're all over the place with their sales numbers. Not that it matters one way or the other, since Apple shares will be heading down, as usual, along with the rest of the market.
I'm hoping that if the next iPod Touch contains a 3G chip, it might lift iPod sales a bit in the future without damaging iPhone sales. I'm curious to see whether or not the iPod Classic will remain part of the iPod lineup. I may have to buy a 160 GB model to replace my trusty old 30 GB model, before they completely disappear.
I expect Apple to sell more than 5 million Macs next quarter, the holiday quarter.
Professional analysts are wrong.
I bought one. 27 inch quad core I5 to replace my white plastic first intel iMac which can't run Lion. Loving it.
If I recall, just a few days ago, another analyst claimed that iPhone sales were brisk, but Mac sales would be weak. Investors honestly can't depend on these analysts for anything solid when covering Apple. They're all over the place with their sales numbers. Not that it matters one way or the other, since Apple shares will be heading down, as usual, along with the rest of the market.
I'm hoping that if the next iPod Touch contains a 3G chip, it might lift iPod sales a bit in the future without damaging iPhone sales. I'm curious to see whether or not the iPod Classic will remain part of the iPod lineup. I may have to buy a 160 GB model to replace my trusty old 30 GB model, before they completely disappear.
How do you figure? Long term trends for AAPL have always been up including through this economy. Sure you can expect a momentary dip as the US hits its debt ceiling etc. That just represents a buying opportunity. The P/E ratio is very good.
Apple has a long way to go until they are no longer a growth company. I hear in passing all the time about people swearing they are going to switch to OS X or move from Android to iPhone. I never hear the opposite.