Huge iPhone sales help Apple's quarterly results demolish forecasts

Apple's quarterly results beat Wall Street estimates on stronger-than-expected demand for the iPhone.

While iPad sales were a little lighter than expected, the overall results sent the stock up 7%, recouping some losses from the past two weeks that had stemmed from concerns about weakening sales growth for iPhones.

Apple sold 35.1 million iPhones - which accounts for about half its revenue - in the March quarter, outpacing the 30 million or so expected by Wall Street analysts.

Margins blew past forecasts - helped by lower-than-expected commodity costs - while a five-fold iPhone sales surge in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong bolstered revenue in the region to $7.9 billion.