Apple's Mac Sales Grow 15% In April, May; Stronger Sales Expected For June

Recently released numbers from NPD are showing Apple's year-over-year Mac sales in the U.S. to be up by 15 percent in April and May. The report was put together by Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, who noted that the "slow start" to the quarter will likely be bumped up in June, when sales are expected to be much stronger.

Wall Street's expectation for Apple this quarter is pegged at 22 percent. Mac sales have so far only hit 15 percent year-over-year, but Munster says its "too early to make a call." He notes that in 2010, new MacBook Pros in April bumped up sales to 38 percent year-over-year, while a MacBook refresh in May 2009 helped bump sales up to 35 percent.

Apple did refresh its iMac desktop computers with the latest Intel Sandy Bridge chips and Thunderbolt connector port this quarter, but that hasn't boosted sales numbers as much. This is largely because Apple's main sales driver is its MacBook laptop computers.

Refreshed MacBook Airs with Intel Sandy Bridge chips are rumored to go into production this month. But, its unclear if they'll hit the market before the end of this quarter to make much of an impact on Apple's sales numbers.

[via Apple Insider]