Booming holiday season sales of the iPad and iPhone propelled Apple to a fiscal 2012 first quarter that far exceeded even the most bullish Wall Street analysts' expectations.
Apple on Monday reported Q1 revenue of $46.33 billion, a 73 percent increase from last year's Q1, and net income of 13.06 billion, or $13.87 per share, a 118 percent jump year over year.
Analysts were expecting $10.08 per share and revenue of $38.8 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal. Apple, in the Q1 guidance it gave Wall Street last October, forecast $9.30 per share and revenue of $37 billion.
Apple's gross margin was 44.7 percent, up from 38.5 percent in the year-ago quarter.
As has been the case for the past couple of years, sales of iPhones and iPads comprised the lion's share of Apple's revenue during Q1, the company's first full quarter without the late CEO Steve Jobs at the helm. Apple sold just over 37 million iPhones and 15.43 million iPads during the quarter, representing unit growth of 128 percent and 111 percent respectively.
Apple also sold 5.2 million Macs in Q1, a 26 percent rise compared to last year's quarter. The only blemish was iPod sales, which dropped 21 percent to 15.4 million units sold.
Apple generated $17.5 billion in cash flow from operations during Q1, Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer said in a statement. For its fiscal second quarter, Apple expects revenue of $32.5 billion and diluted earnings per share of around $8.50.
"We’re thrilled with our outstanding results and record-breaking sales of iPhones, iPads and Macs," Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement. "Apple’s momentum is incredibly strong, and we have some amazing new products in the pipeline."
