Apple Inc. sold 1 million of its new iPhones in the first three days after the handset made its debut, more than double what some analysts anticipated, sending the stock up 3.5 percent."IPhone 3G had a stunning opening weekend," Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs said in a statement today, after starting sales of the device in 21 countries July 11. It took 74 days to sell a million of the original iPhone, which was only available in the U.S. at first, he said.
Half of Apple's 187 U.S. retail outlets were sold out as of last night. AT&T Inc., Apple's exclusive U.S. partner, said most of its 2,000 stores were out of supplies. Carriers in the U.K., Germany, Canada and Japan said many shops ran out of the iPhone 3G, which works with speedier third-generation wireless networks, on the first day.
Piper Jaffray & Co. analyst Gene Munster estimated sales of 425,000 devices in the first three days. He had figured Apple and AT&T sold a combined 225,000 in the U.S., after a failure in Apple's system meant some buyers had to finish the activation at home. Today, Munster said sales overseas outdid his expectations, boosting Cupertino, California-based Apple's results.
"International really hit it out of the park," Munster said today in an interview with Bloomberg Television. "This is definitely a faster start than we anticipated."
The stock is up nicely today.
