Mac sales are on a hot streak seeing the 'three best quarters ever' as consumers continue to upgrade their work-from-home setups
- Tim Cook's comments on the Mac's success coincide with a rise in demand for the computer.
- Apple's Mac and iPads have boomed in the past year as remote workers seek home office improvements.
- However, Cook confirmed on Wednesday that the chip shortage will delay Mac production.
Mac sales are on a hot streak.
"The last three quarters for Mac have been its three best quarters ever," CEO Tim Cook said on the company's second-quarter earnings call.
Mac quarterly sales by the numbers:
- Q2 FY 2021: $9 billion
- Q1 FY 2021: $8.7 billion
- Q4 FY 2020: $9 billion
Mac sales nearly doubled in Apple's most recent quarter compared to $5.4 billion the same time a year ago, which was just before sales began to tick up in the third-quarter of 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic began.
The Mac, iPad, and other remote work-friendly products have seen a boom during the pandemic, as people were driven into their homes. The company's sales in 2020 were largely driven by Macs and other accessories, like Watches.
Cook also said the Mac took a "big step forward" last week when the company unveiled a redesign, which includes the company's new M1 chip, which it began producing last year. Apple debuted a new colorful line of Mac computers at a virtual event last week.
Amid a crushing chip shortage that is sweeping the globe, Apple's iPhone production has been unaffected. However, the production of its MacBooks and iPads has been postponed due to the semiconductor crisis.
Sources told Nikkei that Apple has pushed its orders for components back to later this year, since the shortage is already delaying the assembly of the devices.
Cook and Apple's chief financial officer Luca Maestri confirmed on Wednesday's call that the chip shortage has indeed impacted MacBook and iPad production.
"It's a combination of the shortages as well as the very, very high level of demand that we are seeing for both iPad and iMac," Maestri said.
Cook said he estimates Apple will lose $3 billion to $4 billion in revenue because of the shortage.