iPhone 4S Sales Break Opening Weekend Record

Selling Through The Roof

Want a perfect illustration of a reality disconnect between Wall Street and Main Street? Consider the fact that 13 days ago, when APPLE introduced the iPHONE 4S, Wall Street expressed disappointment that the 4S wasn't a "game-changer" iPHONE 5, sending shares in APPLE stock down (NET NEWS, 10/4). Fast forward to TODAY: APPLE announced that it had sold more than four million iPHONE 4S smartphones since it hit retail last FRIDAY, reports COMPUTERWORLD.

That's yet another record for APPLE, which broke last year's debut of iPHONE 4's sales of 1.7 million in its first three days of retail availability.  "[The] iPHONE 4S is off to a great start with more than four million sold in its first weekend -- the most ever for a phone and more than double the iPHONE 4 launch during its first three days," APPLE head marketing executive PHILIP SCHILLER said in a statement.

Cue the Wall Street analysts' surprise: INTERNATIONAL STRATEGY AND INVESTMENT GROUP analyst BRIAN MARSHALL, who predicted sales of three million over opening weekend, noted "They obviously over-performed."

Added TICONDEROGA SECURITIES analyst BRIAN WHITE: "Clearly, this is stronger launch than the market had originally anticipated."

The record-breaking sales may not be a one-time thing, either. The iPHONE 4s is still backlogged one to two weeks, while some carriers, such as AT&T, is telling customers that the 4S will ship in three to four weeks days from the order date.

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