Apple: Mac Unit Sales Grew 50% In May

Posted by Eric Savitz from Tech Trader..Barron's
Apple (AAPL) had a solid May for both Mac and iPod sales.
As Lehman analyst Tim Luke points out in a note today, new data from market research firm NPD shows Mac unit sales grew 50% on a year-over-year basis in May, ahead of the 37% Q2 growth Lehman had expected. Sales of iPods in the month were up 11.6% for the month in units, slower growth than the 14.6% gain in April, but well ahead of the 2% year-over-year decline Lehman has been modeling for the quarter. Average iPods pricing in the quarter was down 4%.
Lehman continues to expect the introduction of an updated line of Mac notebooks ahead of the back-to-school season, including redesigned MacBook Pros and more MacBook Airs.
“While not exactly strong, iPod demand seems to be holding up and benefiting from the lack of iPhone availability (lack of cannibalization near-term),” Luke writes. “We expect iPod demand to weaken as iPhone demand picks up, but view the current trends as positive for AAPL’s fiscal 3Q08.”
Apple today rose $4.59, or 2.6%, to $181.50.