Apple Shares Surge Following Sweeping Holiday-quarter Beat

Shares of Apple Inc. climbed 2% in after-hours trade Tuesday following the company's stronger-than-expected earnings report, buoyed by iPhone and services revenue. The company reported net income of $17.9 billion, or $3.38 a share, compared with $18.4 billion, or $3.30 a share, in the year-earlier period. Revenue for the period increased to $78.35 billion compared with $75.9 billion last year, topping the Wall Street consensus estimate of $77.3 billion. The company sold 78.3 million iPhone units during the quarter, topping analysts' expectations of 77 million. Services revenue increased to $7.17 billion, up from $6.01 billion last year and topping the $6.9 billion FactSet estimate. Shares of Apple have increased 7% in the past three months and 25% in the past year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average , by comparison, has increased 9.5% in the past three months and 21% in the past year.