Edible Apple

According to a recent memo from Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, Apple in the September quarter may sell upwards of 4.6 million Macs, a figure which would represent an all-time quarterly sales record for the company. By way of contrast, Apple’s previous quarterly Mac sales record, from the 2010 holiday quarter, checks in at 4.1 million.

The impetus for Munster’s new prediction is sales data from NPD which recently revealed that Mac sales shot up 22% in July and August. Munster theorizes that the arrival of OS X Lion, along with a revamped lineup of MacBook Airs and Mac Minis are the primary driving forces behind what may very well be Apple’s most successful Mac quarter in its history.

As for the iPod, well that’s a different story altogether.

It’s no secret that iPod sales continue to trend downward quarter after quarter. Indeed, the iPod Touch is the only model that has seen an increase in year over year sales as consumers migrate away from dedicated MP3 players towards smartphones and tablets.

For the current quarter, Munster anticipates iPod sales to fall somewhere between 7.2 and 7.7 million units, slightly ahead of the 7 million estimate from Wall Street analysts. Munster’s estimation points to a 17% year over year decrease in iPod sales while Wall Street anticipates iPod sales to fall 23% from the same quarter a year-ago. So either way, iPod sales are decreasing in dramatic fashion.

With iPod sales shrinking fast, it’s really hard to believe that the iPod, even a short while ago, was Apple’s key growth driver. That said, you have to give credit to Apple for not resting on their laurels and choosing to branch out into what was then, an entirely foreign market for Apple. Instead of riding the MP3 player bandwagon to the bitter end, Apple chose to innovate and came up with the iPhone, and a few years later, the iPad. All the while, Mac sales have steadily increased while the iPhone and iPad have firmly supplanted the iPod as Apple’s flagship products.

Lastly, Munster maintains a $607 stock target for Apple shares.

via Business Insider