Analyst: Q3 iPad Sales Could Hit 20M

Needham analyst Charlie Wolf thinks Apple could report quarterly iPad sales at 20 million units during its third quarter conference call on July 24. He originally projected 13.5 million units, and his new figures come in higher than Wall Street expectations.

20 million iPads in Q3? Could be.Mr. Wolf decided his earlier estimate was low because 12 NFL teams have moved to the iPad for their play books, commercial airlines are adopting the iPad for cockpit documentation, more airlines are offering iPads to passengers on long flights, and schools are giving the tablets to students and teachers.

“We suspect the list is far longer, embracing, for example, travel agencies, real estate firms and restaurants, which are visualizing the products and services they sell,” Mr. Wolf said, according to Fortune.

He added that looking at how iPad sales have trended since it was introduced in spring 2011 helped shape his new estimate.

“When iPad 2 was introduced in March 2011, sales increased 97 percent in the following (June) quarter. Our forecast of 20 million iPad sales in June implies a 70 percent sequential increase from March,” he said. “While this number appears aggressive, it must be remembered that Apple has continued to sell iPad 2 at the lower price of $399.”

Apple will host its third fiscal quarter earnings report on July 24, and The Mac Observer will offer our usual live coverage of the event.

Apple is currently trading at US$593.92, down 12.66 (2.09%).