For the quarter ending March 31, 2012, Apple posted revenue of US$39.2 billion, compared to $24.7 billion for the same period in 2011. The average forecast of 44 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters was for revenue of $36.81 billion. Net profit jumped to $11.6 billion from $6.0 billion.

The company sold 35.1 million iPhones in the quarter, showing 88 percent year-over-year unit growth. Analysts at Piper Jaffray had expected sales of 30.5 million iPhones. Apple also sold 11.8 million iPads during the quarter, a 151 percent year-over-year unit increase, and 4 million Macs during the quarter, a 7 percent unit increase. Sales of iPods were 7.7 million, a 15 percent unit decline.

At the close of trading Tuesday, before earnings were announced, Apple shares declined $11.42 to close at $560.28, down from its highest-ever closing price of $644.00, reached on April 10. Apple shares have declined in 10 out of the last 11 trading days, as concerns grew that the company, faced with increasing competition from Android-based phones, would reveal sagging iPhone sales. Thirty minutes after the earnings were released, shares jumped $41.81 to $602.09 in after-market trading.

AT&T, , said it activated 4.3 million iPhones in the quarter ending March 31, approximately the same as Verizon reported last week. However, that was a decline from the fourth quarter of calendar 2011, when the introduction of the iPhone 4S fueled 7.6 million activations.