Apple has record sales quarter

Apple has announced record sales of its iPhones, iPads and Mac computers, an announcement that has resonated with its investors, analysts say. The announcement that the recent holiday quarter was the company's best ever lifted Apple stock more than 8 percent, and the company's $13 billion in earnings topped analysts' projections by $3 billion. "They just demolished it," analyst Peter Misek of Jefferies & Co. told the Los Angeles Times. "Everyone thought they were too big -- that there was too much information out there and they couldn't pull off a surprise like this, but boy did they ever." The iPhone led the way as Apple's best-selling product as the company sold 37 million of them in the holiday quarter. Sales of its iPad tablet and its Mac line of computers also set quarterly records. "We're thrilled with our outstanding results and record-breaking sales of iPhones, iPads and Macs," Chief Executive Tim Cook said in a statement. "Apple's momentum is incredibly strong, and we have some amazing new products in the pipeline."