“Apple Inc sold out of its latest smartphone, with more than 5 million iPhone 5s sold in the three days since it hit stores, the company said on Monday,” Jennifer Saba and Sinead Carew report for Reuters. “While sales were solid, analysts were concerned that Apple was unable to produce the new phone fast enough to meet demand.”
“The early total for the iPhone 5 topped sales of the iPhone 4S, which sold more than 4 million units in its first weekend after Apple introduced it in October 2011,” Saba and Carew report. “Expectations for new Apple products are so high that Wall Street appeared not to be wowed by the latest numbers. Investors sent shares of the stock down 1.4 percent at $690.14 in mid-morning trade. ‘It appears investors were disappointed with the slowdown in growth in the first weekend,’ said BTIG analyst Walter Piecyk.”
Saba and Carew report, “‘We believe that sales could have potentially been much higher if not for supply constraints,’ William Power, an analyst with Baird Equity Research, wrote in a note. He forecast Apple selling 8 million to 10 million units in the fiscal fourth quarter ending in September. One of Apple’s key suppliers for screens, Sharp Corp, is struggling with high costs and scrambling to raise funds to pay debt.”
“Apple signaled last week that pre-orders outstripped initial supply and that many phones would not be available until October,” Saba and Carew report. “On Friday, fans lined up at stores in cities around the world to get their hands on the new phone, which is thinner and lighter and has a bigger screen.”
Read more in the full article here.
Related articles:
Analyst: Why Apple whiffed on iPhone 5 sales – September 24, 2012
Apple iPhone 5 misses analysts’ estimates with over 5 million units sold in first weekend – September 24, 2012
Apple: iPhone 5 sales exceed five million units in first weekend; demand exceeded initial supply – September 24, 2012
