Record iPhone sales have helped Apple deliver revenues of more than $100bn over the Christmas quarter.
Apple’s results beat Wall Street estimates as demand from stay-at-home consumers also boosted its Mac computers and iPad tablets over the three months to 26 December.
Overall revenues climbed 21% compared with a year earlier to $111.4bn while iPhone sales rose 17% to $65.6bn beating a previous all-time high set three years ago.
Pent-up demand for four new 5G iPhone 12 models, whose launch last year was delayed by pandemic-driven production problems, appeared to have driven the surge in revenues for the handset in the most recent three-month period.
China, whose economy has reopened while much of the rest of the world is held back by tough restrictions, saw especially strong growth of 57% in sales.
Apple’s value has surged to $2.4trn during the pandemic as, despite store closures, lockdowns have spurred consumers to buy or upgrade devices.
Chief executive Tim Cook told the Reuters news agency that the company now had an “active installed base” of 1.65bn devices, up from 1.5bn a year ago – including 1bn iPhones, up from 900m disclosed most recently in 2019.
Apple’s services business, which includes television, music and cloud storage, posted better-than-expected revenues of $15.8bn while wearables and accessories – which include the Apple Watch and AirPods, hit nearly $13bn.
Mr Cook said the business had seen an “enthusiastic customer response to the unmatched line of cutting-edge products that we delivered across a historic holiday season”.
Profit for the quarter climbed to $28.8bn, 29% up on year earlier.
Daniel Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, said that if momentum continues to build Apple could become the first US company to be valued at $3trn.
However the company’s shares – which have risen 12% in the last couple of weeks alone – edged 2% lower in after-hours trading.