"This is a company that has routinely blown the doors off their estimates so meeting or just exceeding is probably a disappointment," said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at BMO Private Bank, which has $66 billion under management and owns Apple shares.

Apple has been busy updating its product lineup ahead of the holiday season. The company has said its new iPhones will be available in about 100 countries by the end of the year. The higher-end iPhone 5s costs $199 with a two-year wireless contract and includes a more powerful processor, improved camera and fingerprint-reading technology.

The new iPhone 5c is mainly last year's model with colorful plastic cases. The handset is seen as Apple's bid to win more customers in emerging markets like China and Russia. Without a contract, the handset costs about $800, leading analysts to say it's too expensive for those markets and that demand is light.

A new iPad Air also goes on sale on Nov. 1, followed later in the month by an updated iPad mini with a high-definition screen.

David Fuller's view Apple gave back today's gains of nearly $4 in after hours trading following its earnings report. Nevertheless, the share (weekly & daily) had been strong recently and these results are certainly not bad given the soft global economy.

The chart pattern has been mostly positive during the second half of this year, after becoming overextended to the downside relative to its 200-day MA during the two tests of $400 in April and June. If it can now consolidate recent gains above $500, the yearend performance should remain favourable.

Subscribers interested in Apple may also like to see the Company's Press Release, issued several hours before the reported earnings