Apple posted a better-than-expected 12 percent jump in revenue after its best new-iPhone launch on record helped push sales of the smartphone to nearly 39.3 million in the quarter that ended in September. That surpassed the roughly 38 million iPhone sales some on Wall Street had expected, and excluded sales in China, its largest market outside of the United States.
Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri said in an interview that the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, which went on sale last week in China, had already surpassed the previous-generation model in volumes. Orders for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus began in September, which helped push Apple to $42.1 billion in sales. That exceeded the roughly $39.9 billion that Wall Street analysts had predicted, on average. But it wasn't all good news: The iPad fared poorly, with unit sales sliding more than 13 percent over the year to 12.3 million last quarter. Apple unveiled new versions of the iPad last week.
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