After having sold 2 million online pre-orders in 24 hours, Apple finally started selling the much-anticipated iPhone 5 in stores on September 21. Three days and another 5 million iPhones later, analysts were still disappointed by the launch weekend sales. (For the inevitable Apple vs Samsung comparison, the Galaxy S3 shipped 10 million in one month.) According to this blog post, following the Wall Street disappointment, Apple shares dropped over $9 as some investor dump their stocks. Are investors losing confidence in the company? Is Apple going to pull a RIM?
No.
Apple’s sales were constrained by supply shortages, and not a lack of demand. The company has just released what is undeniably the best iPhone ever and they still have time to increase supply for the holiday quarter. The disappointment from analysts is once again a result of Apple setting the bar too high for themselves. Realistically, Apple is doing just fine, and is still the envy of the industry.
If it managed to become the world’s most valuable company by selling the hugely disappointing iPhone 4S, then how can the supposedly biggest upgrade in consumer electronics history possibly slow their growth? When the holiday quarter results are released, Apple could very likely report record earnings, but will that be enough to please insatiable investors?