Supply slices Apple iPhone sales

Apple sold a record 5 million iPhone 5 phones in its debut weekend — but not enough to satisfy analysts who had baked in even loftier assumptions.

CEO Tim Cook said yesterday that the company had exhausted its initial supply of phones and that some customers who had “pre-ordered” the device online would experience delays.

Some Apple bulls had predicted the Cupertino, Calif., company would sell as many as 10 million phones in its first three days.

“We believe iPhone 5 supply is the issue, not demand,” analyst Keith Bachman of BMO Capital Markets wrote to clients yesterday.

Shares slid 1.3 percent to $690.79 as Wall Street wondered if Apple could hit sales targets in the last few days remaining in the quarter.

Analysts predict it could sell more than 25 million iPhones this quarter and 50 million next, but any shortfall could mean the difference between a $700 and $550 stock, according to BGC Partners analyst Colin Gillis.

To complicate matters, pre-order and online sales are limiting the amount of iPhones that Apple can actually count as sold. Apple can’t book an online sale until the device reaches the consumer, and the company is not shipping some of its pre-ordered phones for up to four weeks — well into next quarter.

Apple said it sold 2 million iPhone 5s on pre-order and a “majority” have shipped, but the rest face a lag time before reaching customers.

Concerns about supply shortages were heightened by riots at the Chinese factory that produces Apple products, Foxconn. It was unclear if the disruption would affect the manufacturing of the iPhone.

The iPhone 5 still broke sales records Apple set with its iPhone 4S, which sold about 4 million in its opening weekend last year.