3 Key Takeaways From Apple's Blockbuster Quarter

The bar was high in advance of Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) fiscal fourth-quarter earnings release. The stock was up more than 50% year to date going into the report, and Wall Street has been particularly unforgiving to tech companies in recent months, selling off at the slightest signs of weakness. Apple shareholders were pleased that the results didn't really give bears anything notable to feast on.

For the quarter ended Sept. 28, Apple delivered revenue of $64.04 billion, up 2% year over year, in line with the high end of management's guidance and beating analysts' consensus estimates by about $1 billion. As expected, net income fell by about 3%, but Apple's relentless share buybacks, totaling $18 billion this quarter, helped boost earnings per share to $3.03, up 4% compared with the prior-year quarter, and topping expectations of $2.83. 

Headline numbers aside, here are three key takeaways from Apple's blockbuster results.

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Source Fool.com