(Image source: Apple )

 

BY DAVID EARL

 

Despite a five-day stock slide, Apple’s first quarter earning blew by expectations anyway. The tech giant had a nearly 100 percent increase in profit from the same quarter last year. In the first quarter of 2012 … Apple sold, get this, 16,000 iPhones per hour.

 

While company documents show Mac computers and iPods suffered slight sales drops year-over-year, sales of iPhones and iPads were up big time.

 

Apple cleared $14b in cash. What’s that mean? Compare Microsoft, which had about $17b in revenue last quarter. CNBC puts it in perspective.

 

“Apple added a microsoft, almost, in cash. They did double Microsoft’s revenue, double microsoft’s profit in this quarter. It’s pretty staggering.”

 

An analyst tells Bloomberg Apple can thank China for all the iPhone success.

 

“These numbers — they did really well outside of the U.S., and that’s a sign that, even though they’re prepaid phone markets, the iPhone’s having success. I think this is a really strong long-term data point about the success of iPhone in emerging markets.”

 

For now, the Wall Street Journal points out , because of the iPhones blistering success, all of Apple’s eggs appear to be in one basket. So how will its stock handle the wait for the next iphone version?

 

“…because most people aren’t expecting to see the iPhone 5 until sometime in the fall …it’s worth asking ‘is there going to be something to drive the stock in these next few months?’”

 

Shares of Apple spiked 7% in after-hours trading Tuesday … all thanks to news of the first quarter earnings report.