In a note to clients — as reported by “CNET” (http://tinyurl.com/anm2ffs) — J.P. Morgan analyst Mark Moskowitz says iPad sales for the last fiscal quarter may be lower than expected due to constrained supplies — though this is part of a short-term “blip.”
He thinks unit sales of the iPad and iPad mini combined will be lighter than expected for the final quarter of 2012. Moskowitz is now predicting unit sales of 18.4 million, down from his previous forecast of 20.1 million.
“Our research indicates that near-term supply constraints impacted iPad sell-in activity during the seasonally-stronger holiday season,” the analyst says. “Supply did not improve until early December. In our view, it was a supply, not demand issue.”