Apple iPhone 5 sales fall short of expectations

Apple announced iPhone 5 sales totaled 5 million in just three days after the phone's launch on September 21. The company says demand for the iPhone 5 exceeded initial supply, and adds that many pre-orders won't ship until October.

The company's stock is currently down 1.77 percent to $687.68, as 5 million is on the lower end of what analysts anticipated. Early last week reports hit the web that analysts predicted the iPhone 5 would sell between 6 million and 10 million phones in the launch weekend, an estimate Apple hasn't been able to beat. The iPhone 5 is significantly more popular than its predecessors though, the iPhone 4S saw sales of 4 million in its first three days, and the very first iPhone took 74 days to sell 1 million (but it wasn't as widely available as its successors).

iPhone 5 is available in the US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and the UK, and will be available in 22 more countries on September 28 and more than 100 countries by the end of the year. Demand for iPhone 5 exceeded the initial supply and while the majority of pre-orders have been shipped to customers, many are scheduled to be shipped in October.

“Demand for iPhone 5 has been incredible and we are working hard to get an iPhone 5 into the hands of every customer who wants one as quickly as possible,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “While we have sold out of our initial supply, stores continue to receive iPhone 5 shipments regularly and customers can continue to order online and receive an estimated delivery date. We appreciate everyone’s patience and are working hard to build enough iPhone 5s for everyone.”