The holiday 2012 sale results are in and, unsurprisingly, the iPhone5 was one of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s best selling gadgets of the season.
Unfortunately, the iPad didn’t have the same caliber of sales, mostly thanks to supply issues.
According to a report from Mark Moskowitz, analyst at JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), his team discovered that Apple’s near-term supply constraints in November affected iPad sales.
He originally predicted that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) would sell 20.1 million iPads during December but his current estimation is now 18.4 million units.
He explained, “While lighter iPad units could frustrate investors, we believe the miss is explainable. In our view, it was a supply — not demand — issue.”
Despite strong sales for the iPhone5, there is still some concern that consumers have lost interest in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s flagship phone. Fortunately, Moskowitz and other analysts have alleviated such fears earlier this week. His speculation is that Apple is improving the yields for iPhone 5 production. He had a forecast of sales for 47.9 million last month.
Moskowitz also expects that the gross margins for Apple may recover faster than what most analysts expect and this could be a positive thing for the company’s stock. He adds that investors honed in on Apple’s gains and they’ve forgotten to weigh the stock funds simply because it’s hard to back up a stock that’s expected to see a decline in gross margins in the upcoming year.
Moskowitz added that he expects the problem to subside quicker than they initially expected if the component cuts are indeed related to manufacturing yields. This means gross margins should bounce back.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) may experience a huge boost in sales this year, especially if rumors of lower-priced iPhones are true.
There have been numerous rumors that Apple will introduce the iPhone Mini, a smaller version of the popular smartphone with less impressive specs, later on this year.