iPods up, iPhones down

In announcing the results of its fiscal first quarter, Apple has revealed that it sold a record 22,727,000 iPods during the period, a 3 percent growth year-over-year. The number is particularly unusual in light of estimates from analysts, which suggested that even 20 million units would be a positive and optimistic number. Many observers called for figures between 18 and 20 million.

iPhone sales slipped below the Street consensus of 5 million however, amounting to only 4,363,000. The number may prove especially disappointing to research firms like Piper Jaffray, which at one point called for shipments as high as 6.4 million phones; regardless, Apple notes that the figure represents an 88 percent growth year-over-year, a factor most likely attributable to the increased global distribution of the iPhone 3G.

Mac shipments have proven to be roughly on par with consensus, listed at 2,524,000 compared to projections between 2.5 and 2.6 million. The official tally is a 9 percent growth year-over-year.

In terms of revenue distribution, Apple figures claim approximately $3.37 billion derived from iPods, and $3.55 billion derived from Macs, the latter total being split into $1.04 billion from desktops and $2.51 billion from MacBooks. iPhone revenue is listed at just $1.25 billion, but Apple has chosen to defer full figures under GAAP accounting rules.

by MacNN Staff