Apple's Mac sales held up in May while iPod shipments fell
Apple last month saw Mac sales that were fairly inline with those achieved last year while sales of iPods were hit with double-digit declines, according to new retail data released Monday.
Macs in line
In a report on a the findings by market research firm NPD, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster noted that sales of Macs were down just 3% when compared to those from May of 2008, a positive sign given a troubled worldwide economy.
Munster had been expecting Mac sales to decline anywhere from 2% - 5% during the month. Having now digested sales data for the first two months of the current quarter, he expects the company to report sales of anywhere from 2.2 million - 2.4 million systems for the three-month period ending June.
"This data, along Â*with our assumptions for the last month of the quarter, implies year-over-year Mac unit growth of -12% to -4%, essentially in-line with the Street at Â*-8% year-over-year growth," he explained. "However, we expect the shipment of lower priced MacsÂ*on June 8th to drive upside to the Mac number in the final month of the quarter."
iPods behind the curve
The average selling price of Macs saw no change during May, according to NPD, but the same could not be said for iPods, whose average price fell 7.5%. iPod unit sales were also down a considerable 18 percent as pent-up demand for new iPod shuffles introduced in March began to subside and consumers likely began delaying purchases of some of the pricer models in anticipation of new models in September.
Munster, who had been modeling iPod sales to fall off by only 7 percent, nevertheless put a positive spin on the news, saying he expects "a reacceleration" of sales during the current month of June due to Apple's back-to-school promo which offers a rebate with a value sufficient for canceling out the price of an 8GB iPod touch to students who also purchase a qualifying Mac at the same time.
For the June quarter ending this month, the Piper Jaffray analyst believes iPod sales will amount to 9.5 million to 10.5 million, which implies year-over-year iPod unit growth of -14% to -5%, which compares to Street consensus estimates of about -9% growth year-over-year.
Munster maintains a Buy rating and $180 price target on shares of Apple.
Macs in line
In a report on a the findings by market research firm NPD, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster noted that sales of Macs were down just 3% when compared to those from May of 2008, a positive sign given a troubled worldwide economy.
Munster had been expecting Mac sales to decline anywhere from 2% - 5% during the month. Having now digested sales data for the first two months of the current quarter, he expects the company to report sales of anywhere from 2.2 million - 2.4 million systems for the three-month period ending June.
"This data, along Â*with our assumptions for the last month of the quarter, implies year-over-year Mac unit growth of -12% to -4%, essentially in-line with the Street at Â*-8% year-over-year growth," he explained. "However, we expect the shipment of lower priced MacsÂ*on June 8th to drive upside to the Mac number in the final month of the quarter."
iPods behind the curve
The average selling price of Macs saw no change during May, according to NPD, but the same could not be said for iPods, whose average price fell 7.5%. iPod unit sales were also down a considerable 18 percent as pent-up demand for new iPod shuffles introduced in March began to subside and consumers likely began delaying purchases of some of the pricer models in anticipation of new models in September.
Munster, who had been modeling iPod sales to fall off by only 7 percent, nevertheless put a positive spin on the news, saying he expects "a reacceleration" of sales during the current month of June due to Apple's back-to-school promo which offers a rebate with a value sufficient for canceling out the price of an 8GB iPod touch to students who also purchase a qualifying Mac at the same time.
For the June quarter ending this month, the Piper Jaffray analyst believes iPod sales will amount to 9.5 million to 10.5 million, which implies year-over-year iPod unit growth of -14% to -5%, which compares to Street consensus estimates of about -9% growth year-over-year.
Munster maintains a Buy rating and $180 price target on shares of Apple.
Comments
It must be those "I'm a PC" commercials that are really impacting Apple. I'd also believe that the Zune HD is playing in on the iPod decline.
hahahahahahahaha
The banked iPhone earnings will easily absorb this and should push the stock up as we enter earnings season.
Also worth noting is that iPhones obviously cannibalize iPod sales to some extent, although given the price difference I'm sure this is something that Apple can live with easily enough.
It's that sucky new shuffle.
Wrong.
Shuffles outsell all other models.
Wrong.
Shuffles outsell all other models.
The shuffle demand subsided- can't you read? They suck and people realized it. Only diehards bought them initially.
If i had an iphone, i wouldn't buy an ipod. Why would i?
in other news, this is also meaningless without looking at the larger picture? Is the share of ipods dropping? What about macs? If year over year sales were flat for macs, the market share might have gone up by a few points b/c the rest of the industry has been seeing 20% drops in shipments.
The shuffle demand subsided- can't you read? They suck and people realized it. Only diehards bought them initially.
We can all read....however we don't make false assumptions based on what was said. Nothing in the article stated how low iPod Shuffle sales were. It just said it subsided from the original boom which happens with any new Apple product. Just because you think it sucks, doesn't mean everyone does.
I expect the average sale price of iPods to continue to decline. I see many people replacing their iPods for smartphones so any iPod purchase on top of that seems to probably be a Nano or Shuffle.
We can all read....however we don't make false assumptions based on what was said. Nothing in the article stated how low iPod Shuffle sales were. It just said it subsided from the original boom which happens with any new Apple product. Just because you think it sucks, doesn't mean everyone does.
It doesn?t matter what the topic is, he will undoubtedly make the wrong assessment every time, without fail. That is an absolute statement! If I didn?t find his false assertions so annoying I may actually feel bad for him never winning an argument.
Cheers
Jim
The shuffle demand subsided- can't you read? They suck and people realized it. Only diehards bought them initially.
Just bought an iPod Shuffle last weekend. I LOVE it! When I'm at the gym or jogging, I don't want a display. The controls are perfect. I just need to get a pair of in-ear headphones for it and I'm all set!
Just bought an iPod Shuffle last weekend. I LOVE it! When I'm at the gym or jogging, I don't want a display. The controls are perfect. I just need to get a pair of in-ear headphones for it and I'm all set!
Surely you must be lying. Some have stated that sales of a new product subsiding somehow means the sales have stopped because the device is crap, and he stated on numerous occasions that it’s impossible to use the new shuffle because the cord-based controls are impossible to get hold of.
It just amazes me at times the conclusions these people come to when reading the same data I read. The economy is certainly an issue but that just makes people seek out the bargains even if it means waiting a bit for things like back to school.
Dave
Just bought an iPod Shuffle last weekend. I LOVE it! When I'm at the gym or jogging, I don't want a display. The controls are perfect. I just need to get a pair of in-ear headphones for it and I'm all set!
Teckstud doesn't understand the words "gym" and "jogging" for that denotes outside activity. He would have to actually go outside in order to see how the shuffle is used out in the real world and it terrifies him and his species of troll. Keep it simple for him. Most of what is discussed here is way beyond him. That would explain his tendency to fabricate information out of thin air in the hopes some poor soul would actually take him seriously.
I agree that it's pointless reporting iPod sales without considering iPhone figures. The iPhone is supposed to cannibalize iPod sales because losing sales to phones was inevitable ... the smart thing was to offer a product in the new market segment, which is what Apple has done.
Cheers
Jim
Great post . You are saying that they are all in the same basket, the ipods touch and iphone.
True
peace
PS stop feeding the troll
9
Who the hell jogs and wants to change songs by a complicated flailing cord? Who- I ask you? Who?
And BTW - I've ran the NYC marathon.
Apple gave us something that no one wanted , a shuffle for the gym that speaks to you, except solipism. He got what he wanted and yet even he hasn't bought one? What's up with that?
Now what exactly did I predict and wish for?
Now what exactly did I predict and wish for?
An iPod that told you're currently playing YMCA by The Village People!