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Apple's 'record' quarter sees revenues top $54 billion...

...but stock falls by 10% regardless

Apple's 'record' quarter sees revenues top $54 billion...
Apple's (NASDAQ: APPL) quarterly results saw the company publish Q1 2013 revenues of $54.5 billion, up from $46.3 billion during the same period in 2012.

Indeed, the company branded the 12 week period a "record" quarter, with net profit coming in at $13.1 billion, again up – albeit marginally - from the $13.06 recorded during Q1 2012.

However, despite CEO Tim Cook's assurance that the company is "thrilled", Apple's stock fell by 10 percent in the hour and a half following the release of the results, with the company's numbers failing to hit the highs projected by analysts across Wall St.

Crucially, it's the third quarter in a row Apple has missed such targets.

Record review

Said revenues were in-part generated by sales of 47.8 million iPhones across the quarter, though analysts had expected a figure closer to – or even higher than – 50 million.

As such, commentators had boldly predicted revenues of $55 billion or more – a figure the company only narrowly missed - translating to a net profit of around $13.4 billion.

Such projections had themselves positively impacted the company's pre-earnings share price, in part explaining the current 10 percent slump.

Apple's share price finished at $514.01 at the end of the day, but has since slumped to $458.26 in after hours trading.

For its part, Apple is naturally keen to focus on the positive, pushing forward the quarter's record status.

Peak and decline

"We're pleased to have generated over $23 billion in cash flow from operations during the quarter," said CFO Peter Oppenheimer.

"We established new all-time quarterly records for iPhone and iPad sales, significantly broadened our ecosystem, and generated Apple's highest quarterly revenue ever."

Despite continued sales growth, however, longterm investors are worried iPhone has hit its peak in the west, with future expansion needed in Asia to sustain Apple's run at the top.

Though Apple has made a concerted effort to break into markets such as China, cheaper Android devices typically dominate in the region, with iPhone finding it hard to compete on the country's defining issues: openness of the ecosystem and price.

Apple's stock has lost more than a quarter of its value since peaking in September at $702. The firm expects revenues of between $41 billion and $43 billion in Q2 2013.

[source: Apple]

With a fine eye for detail, Keith Andrew is fuelled by strong coffee, Kylie Minogue and the shapely curve of a san serif font.