Gene Munster, a top Apple analyst with Piper Jaffray, has been tracking the availability of the latest iPhone 5 at 100 Apple Stores around the U.S. for the past month and reports that there have been significant improvements in the past 10 days.
As of Tuesday night, iPhones running on AT&T were in stock at 82% of Apple stores, while Verizon iPhones were available in 72% of Apple stores and Sprint iPhones were available in 92% of Apple Stores.
Meanwhile, shipping times for those ordering the iPhone 5 online have dropped to about two weeks, after having been stuck at 3-4 weeks ever since the phone launched on Sept. 21.
In a research note released Wednesday, Munster concludes that Apple is “nearing full availability” for the iPhone 5 — just in time for the holiday season.
The iPhone 5 hit store shelves exactly two months ago to great expectations, but opening weekend sales were lower-than-expected due to supply constraints. Since then, Apple’s stock has been plagued by concerns that the company’s manufacturing partners can’t produce the latest iPhone fast enough to keep up with consumer demand.
During Apple’s earning calls, last month, CEO Tim Cook assured investors that supply and demand would balance out eventually, though he wouldn’t specify when. “It’s difficult to predict when supply and demand will balance, but I’m feeling very confident on our ability to supply quite a few iPhones,” Cook said at the time.
The question now is whether the improved availability of the iPhone 5 is due more to increased efficiency in Apple’s supply chain or a decrease in demand for the iPhone 5 as it becomes old news — or some combination of the two.
Apple’s stock was flat on the day as of publication, trading at about $560 a share.
Written by Arslan Asif
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