Apple sells over 5m iPhone 5, supply constraints loom

Wednesday, 26 September 2012 01:03 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

REUTERS: Apple Inc (AAPL.O) sold over 5 million iPhone 5 smartphones in the three days since it hit stores, but shares sagged as the company struggled to meet demand.

While sales were solid, the company said on Monday it had run out of its initial supply and many pre-orders were scheduled to go out in October.

Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said the company is “working hard to build enough iPhone 5s for everyone.”

Expectations for new Apple products were so high - some analysts forecast Apple selling as many as 10 million phone over the weekend - that Wall Street was not wowed by the latest numbers. The stock was down 1.7 percent at $688.64 in afternoon trade.

Given the demand, Apple, the world’s most valuable company, is being closely watched for any supplier problems that may slow down the smartphone production.

Supply limitations are likely to weigh on Apple as the iPhone 5 is launched in another 22 countries on Friday.

To complicate matters, Apple’s largest contract manufacturer Foxconn Technology closed a factory in the northern Chinese city of Taiyuan after a riot broke out among 2,000 employees.

The early total for the iPhone 5 topped sales of the iPhone 4S, which sold more than 4 million units in its first weekend after Apple introduced it in October 2011.

The numbers do not include units that have yet to be shipped or delivered to customers as Apple books sales only when online customers sign for the purchase.

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