Another Doom And Gloom Forecast Ahead Of Apple’s Release Of Financial Numbers
January 17, 2013
Holiday sales for the iPad with Retina display and iPad mini could have been seriously dampened by supply constrains. So much so that one analyst has cut his iPad sales forecast significantly, according to CNET.
J.P. Morgan analyst Mark Moskowitz expects iPad sales from October to December to come in at 18.4 million units. This is down from his earlier prediction of 20.1 million made in late 2012.
According to Moskowitz:
Our research indicates that near-term supply constraints impacted iPad sell-in activity during the seasonally-stronger holiday season. Supply did not improve until early December. In our view, it was a supply, not demand issue.To say that Wall Street is getting nervous about Apple’s long-term health would be an understatement. During the past week alone, we’ve heard numerous stories about poor iPhone sales, and how that could affect the company going forward. These stories have helped push Apple’s stock below $500 for the first time since February. Moskowitz calls whatever iPad shortfall a “blip” since he doesn’t believe it has anything to do with demand for Apple’s line of tablets. However, he is concerned about how Apple would sell this news to investors. As such, “he believes Apple's explanation of the sales decline will be important, especially as the iPad gears up to take on a bigger role over the next few years.” That explanation, assuming iPad sales were influenced by supply constraints, will occur on Wednesday, Jan. 23. That is the day Apple will announce their holiday quarter financials. See also: Only Apple Knows For Sure Whether The iPhone 5 Is In Trouble, and A New Survey Suggests That A Super Sized iPhone Would Sell Extremely Well. Source: CNET
