Analyst: Q3 iPod sales could be slightly below estimates

Acknowledging that it may be too early to make an accurate call on June quarter numbers, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster says that Apple’s third quarter iPod unit sales could be slightly below estimates. Munster says that NPD shipment data for April suggests iPod units of around 8.0 million for the quarter. “The Street is currently looking for 8.6 million iPods in the June quarter, ahead of our estimate of 8.25 million and the iPod units of 8.0 million suggested by the first month of NPD,” Munster writes in a research note to clients. “Recent chatter in various articles and web postings about trends with component suppliers have suggested that iPod units were slower than expected in April, so we do not think investors will be surprised by this early datapoint. As a result of ‘Grads and Dads’ buying we believe May and June iPod sales will likely be better than what was seen in April.”