Apple Claims Three Million New iPad Sales [Update]

 

iPad Cash

Apple announced on Monday that it sold three million of the company’s new iPad since it shipped on Friday, March 16th—the company announced the device on March 7th.

“The new iPad is a blockbuster with three million sold―the strongest iPad launch yet,” Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, said in a meeting. “Customers are loving the incredible new features of iPad, including the stunning Retina display, and we can’t wait to get it into the hands of even more customers around the world this Friday.”

UBS analyst Maynard Um issued a research note to his clients saying, “The initial run-rate of new iPad sales is impressive (although it does include ~9 days of pre-orders). Apple has sold ~750k new iPads per day since launch on Friday. If there are no supply shortages, this would imply a run rate of ~12 million new iPads between launch and the end of the quarter (this does not include sales of iPad 2).”

Apple CEO Tim Cook was asked by an analyst during a conference call Monday morning how many iPads the company sold. Mr. Cook replied that Apple had a record iPad weekend, but didn’t provide specific numbers. The company’s announcement on Monday afternoon clarified with the specifics.

Three million iPads sold in one weekend is a fantastic result for Apple. In comparison, the company sold 15.4 million iPads during the entire December quarter, which included Christmas sales and one extra week for the company’s fiscal year.

Mr. Um maintained his “Buy” rating on shares of AAPL, as well as his $675 price target on the stock. AAPL ended the day Monday at a record high of $601.10, before iPad sales were announced.

[Update: The article was updated with additional information. - Editor]