Analysis of July iPod sales data points to ‘slight downside’

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster said today that data from NPD points to iPod sales that are slightly below expectations for Apple’s September quarter. Munster said July iPod sales suggest a preliminary number of 8 million units for the quarter, slightly below his estimate of 8.6 million iPods. Munster said he believes Apple can still meet estimates if a new iPod ships by quarter end. “While our iPod NPD extrapolation analysis suggests that iPod shipments through the month of July are tracking slightly below plan, we continue to believe that Apple will ship new/updated iPods (likely updated nano) in September,” Munster said. “Assuming Apple does ship new iPods in September and depending on the timing of shipment within the month, we believe it is still possible that our 8.6m unit estimate for the quarter can be achieved.”