Supply issues cost Apple $6 billion in Q4 2021, CEO Tim Cook says

Apple CEO Tim Cook says that ongoing supply problems cost Apple $6 billion in the September quarter, leading to the company missing Wall Street revenue expectations.

The Cupertino tech giant reported revenue of $83.4 billion for its fourth quarter, which corresponds to the third calendar quarter of the year. Although it marks 29% year-over-year revenue growth, that number came in below analyst and investor forecasts for Apple's September quarter.

In an interview with CNBC on Thursday, Cook said that Apple managed the "very strong performance" despite "larger than expected supply constraints."

"The supply constraints were driven by the industry wide chip shortages that have been talked about a lot, and COVID-related manufacturing disruptions in Southeast Asia," Cook said.

Additionally, Cook said that Apple will not provide formal revenue guidance for the first quarter of 2021, which corresponds to the holiday shopping season and is typically Apple's busiest quarter. The Apple chief executive did say that he expects "solid year-over-year revenue growth."

The quarter marks the first time that Apple has missed a revenue estimate since May 2017.

Back in July, Apple warned that ongoing supply chain issues could affect the iPhone and iPad in the September quarter. Earlier in October, reports indicated that Apple had cut iPhone production targets because constraints were snarling supply partner quotas.