Record iPhone sales drive blowout quarter for Apple

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Apple had another blowout quarter thanks to its new plus-sized iPhones, which helped the company smash sales records for the holiday season.

Apple said today that it sold 74.5 million iPhones during the three months that ended Dec. 31, beating analysts' expectations for the latest models of Apple's most-popular gadget, introduced in September.

The surge in iPhone sales drove the company's total revenue to $74.6 billion, up 30 percent from a year earlier. CEO Tim Cook said on a call with analysts that demand for the phones was "staggering," and noted that results would have been even higher if not for the impact of the strong dollar on overseas sales.

Net income rose 38 percent to $18 billion, as Apple reported earnings of $3.06 a share. Analysts surveyed by FactSet were expecting earnings of $2.60 a share on revenue of $67.39 billion.

Apple also forecast revenue for the current quarter between $52 billion and $55 billion. The midpoint of that range is just below the average analyst estimate of $53.6 billion for the period ending in March, when sales typically fall from their holiday season peak.