Apple blows past earnings expectations again, extends string of record quarters

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Apple Inc. trounced analyst expectations yet again Monday while continuing its string of record quarters.

Riding booming sales of its blockbuster iPhone 4 -- the company said it sold 14.1 million units of the smart phone during the new model’s debut quarter -- Apple reported an all-time-high $20.34 billion in sales. That handily beat Wall Street analysts’ expectations of $19.3 billion.

Sales of the new iPhone rose more than 90% over the previous quarter, an increase that seemed to mute concerns that the company might have lost momentum after the phone stumbled through problems with its antenna shortly after its release.

‘We are blown away to report over $20 billion in revenue and over $4 billion in after-tax earnings -- both all-time records for Apple,’ said Apple CEO Steve Jobs, adding that, ‘We still have a few surprises left for the remainder of this calendar year.’

Apple also sold 4.19 million iPads, a nearly 30% increase over the 3.3 million the company sold in the tablet device’s debut quarter.

Shares of Apple’s stock rose $3.26, or 1%, to $318 during regular trading. Earlier in the day, the stock hit an all-time high of $319 a share, representing a 50% gain since January. The stock was climbing slightly in after-hours trading.

-- David Sarno