Apple: Fourth quarter was 'most profitable ever'

Apple did not disappoint investors as it closed out its fiscal year. The company reported its earnings on Monday afternoon, calling the fiscal fourth quarter of 2009 its "most profitable ever".

Apple recorded revenue of $9.87bn (£6bn) and earnings of $1.67bn , or $1.82 per share. That is up from the $7.9bn in revenue and $1.26 per share of a year ago, and it easily fell within the range of what Wall Street was hoping for. Analysts had been expecting earnings per share somewhere between $1.24 and $1.72, and revenue between $8.74bn and $10.55bn.

The evidence of Apple's continued ability to float above the economic storm of the past year sent its shares over the $200 mark in after-hours trading, surpassing its 52-week high of $192.32.

See Apple: Best Mac, iPhone quarterly sales ever on CNET News for more on this story.