Figure 'soft' compared to broader expectations

US Mac sales were up 13 percent year-over-year for the first two months of the December quarter, according to new NPD Group data cited by Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster. The amount is described as "soft" compared to what is expected for the quarter as a whole, the investor consensus target being about 5.2 million Macs, a jump of 25 percent over the same period last year. Munster is holding to a range of 5.1 to 5.3 million Macs, which he notes would be an Apple record.

In detail the NPD data reveals that in November, desktop Macs were up 5 percent year-over-year, while MacBooks grew 9 percent. Munster remarks, though, that last year, 48 percent of NPD units for the December quarter were actually sold in December itself. "Also, we believe international Mac sales are likely growing faster than domestic Mac units (and NPD does not track international Mac sales)," he writes. In the end, Macs are predicted to account for 18 percent of Apple's December quarter revenue.

NPD numbers are additionally said to show quarterly iPod sales so far slipping 14 percent year-over-year. That actually puts Apple in a better position than consensus, such that the company is expected to sell 15.5 million iPods in the quarter, down 20 percent from the December 2010 quarter.

by MacNN Staff