Apple is warning that global supply chain woes will ensnare most of its products, including the iPhone and Mac, during the holiday shopping season.
In an earnings call on Thursday, company executives said the chip shortage and COVID-19 disruptions to manufacturing were enough to wipe out $6 billion in revenue Apple should’ve made in Q3.
“We had about $6 billion in supply constraints and it affected the iPhone, the iPad, and the Mac,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said, although the company still raked in a record $83.4 billion in Q3, up 29% year over year.
Apple also expects it’ll leave even more money on the table during Q4. “We estimate the impact from supply constraints will be larger during the December quarter,” said CFO Luca Maestri.
“The iPhone channel inventory ended below the targeted range and is currently below it,” Cook added. Meanwhile, iPad sales will likely decline year over year in Q4 due to the chip crunch.
However, Apple will still have plenty of product to sell during the holiday shopping season. The problem is that consumer demand will exceed supplies.
“It's important to know that we're getting a lot more supply,” Cook said in the call. “And so, the amount of supply is growing dramatically. It's just that the demand is so robust that we envision having supply constraints for the quarter.”
As a result, if you’re hoping to gift an iPhone or Mac this holiday season, order as soon as possible. Apple’s website is already showing orders for the iPhone 13 Pro and new MacBook Pros won’t be fulfilled until late November to early December, depending on the model.