Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) announced on Monday that it sold 3 million, just three days after the launching of the iPad Mini and the fourth generation iPad. According to the company, its sales result doubled the 1.5 million first weekend sales record of the third generation iPad last March.
Tim Cook, chief executive officer of iPad said Apple “practically sold out the iPad Minis.” He emphasized that consumers worldwide love the iPad Mini as well as the fourth generation iPad. According to him, the company is working hard to speed up the production of the devices to meet the “incredible demand.”
The Cupertino based company did not reveal the exact number that accounts for the iPad Mini out of the 3 million units sold. Piper Jaffray senior analyst Gene Munster believed that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) sold between 2 million to 2.5 million iPad Minis during its first weekend. Last week his estimate was 1.5 million units.
In a research note to investors on Monday, Munster explained that his estimate was based on the line surveys conducted by the research firm. According to him, nine out of every 10 customers were waiting for the iPad Mini instead of the full-sized iPad. Munster projected that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) would be able to sell a total of 25 million iPads in the fourth quarter. The figure includes 5 million iPad Minis.
On the other hand, JP Morgan analyst Mark Moskowitz described Apple’s 3 million sales for the three days as a “significant milepost” considering the fact that the only available iPads for sale during the launch were Wi-Fi models. Apple sold 3 million units during its first weekend sale, but the company offered both cellular-capable and Wi-Fi only models.
Moskowitz said, “Apple’s iPad mini could set the stage for the iPad product set to carry the growth baton into the future, particularly as iPhone growth momentum moderates.” In addition, he believed that the iPad Mini, which has a starting of $329, could hurt the PC market. According to him, price-sensitive consumers might end up purchasing the iPad Mini instead of a PC.
Maynard Um, analyst at Wells Fargo Security believed that the 3 million iPads sold by Apple accounts for the iPad Mini. He reiterated his estimate that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) would be able to sell 20.2 million total iPads during the December quarter. According to him, during the holiday season, the demand for the devices would exceed the company’s supply.
Meanwhile, Topeka Capital Markets analyst Brian White stated that Apple is capable of selling more than 3 million iPads during its first weekend sale if it has an abundant supply of iPad Mini. He previously projected that the company would be able to sell between 800 thousand to 1 million iPad Minis during the first three days. He believes Apple’s sales for the smaller iPad exceeded his expectations. During the upcoming holiday season, he expects Apple to sell 26 million total iPads including 7 million units of the 7.9 inches iPad.
White also projected that Apple’s total iPad sales for the full year 2013 would be around 99.5 million including 30 million iPad Minis. By 2014, he projected Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) could sell 138.5 million iPads including 48 million iPad Minis.
