Oppenheimer noted that the rise in Mac sales outpaced the 2-percent growth of the PC market for the quarter, according to figures tallied by market-research firm IDC. That marks the 19th time in the last 20 quarters that Mac sales have grown faster than overall PC market, Oppenheimer said.

Apple executives also cited a strong back-to-school quarter for the company. Sales to U.S. schools rose 12 percent, as Apple tallied its highest quarterly sales ever for the U.S. education market. Those figures were buoyed by shipments of 50,000 books to Maine as part of that state's ongoing .

Apple also noted particularly strong sales in its Asia Pacific market, with Mac sales increasing 42 percent from the year-ago quarter.

Cook also said that Snow Leopard sales were stronger than Apple expected, with twice as many sales of Snow Leopard upgrades during the operating system's first five weeks on sale than Leopard made during its first five weeks.