14 DAY TRIAL // Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster has issued a research note informing Apple investors that Mac sales are blowing away their expectations. iPod sales, albeit still on the decline, are also above consensus, Munster said.
The latest data from NPD shows a 22 percent growth in Macintosh sales for the first two months of the September quarter, Munster said.
Wall Street analysts are expecting a 16% growth rate for the entire quarter.
The analyst, one of the many who believes Apple will one day take over the living room with a full-fledged TV solution, said the strong Macintosh sales are mostly due to the recent MacBook Air refresh coupled with the launch of Mac OS X Lion.
“Mac NPD Data Suggests 4.4m-4.6m Macs vs. Est. 4.5m In Sept. Qtr. (Mac ~20% Revs). We have analyzed domestic NPD retail data for the first 2 months of the Sept. quarter, which is up 22% y/y,” Munster wrote.
The analyst specifically noted that “The data benefited from new Mac products in the month of July, but the tailwind from these releases will likely fade in Sept.”
“Net-net, we believe this early data suggests Mac sales in the range of 4.4m-4.6m, or 13%-18% y/y growth (we believe Street consensus is 4.5m Macs in the quarter and we are also at 4.5m),” he said, according to the Business Insider.
The Piper Jaffray analyst forecasts that Mac revenue will account for 20% of Apple’s total revenue in the September quarter.
Moving on to iPads, the research note cites NPD data that suggests 7.2 million to 7.7 million units sold, versus a previous estimate of just 7 million units.
“Our analysis of domestic iPod unit data from NPD for the first 2 months of the Sept. quarter (-16% y/y) suggests iPod results slightly ahead of consensus,” Munster wrote.
“NPD leads us to an iPod approximation of 7.2m-7.7m (we believe the Street is at ~7.0m). This range implies y/y iPod unit growth of -20% to -15% y/y vs. the Street at -23% y/y,” said the analyst.