Accessories, iPhone X and services feed Apple's record quarter
MacBooks only area that saw decrease in vendor's $53bn Q3 revenue
Apple has attributed its $53.3bn (£40.6bn) Q3 revenue to the success of the iPhone X, its growing services offerings and its accessories range.
The revenue results represent a 17 per cent year-on-year increase, making it the fourth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth for Apple.
The news resulted in a four per cent rise in the company's share price during after-hours trading on Tuesday.
The tech behemoth is on track to become the first US trillion-dollar company in history, and needs only a seven per cent rise from its current $935bn valuation to reach that milestone.
In spite of stagnant iPhone sales, the premium-priced iPhone X was the best-selling model in the quarter, helping iPhone revenue to rise 20 per cent year on year.
Richard Holway, chairman of analyst TechMarketView, explained that although sales of units may not be growing, the user base is.
"Apple sales of new iPhones might be flat but every new sale adds to the core base. In our own household iPhones don't die - they get passed down the generations," said Holway. "That adds to a growing core of users - consuming stuff like Apple Music and boosting still further Apple's Services revenues."
Apple CEO Tim Cook reported "stellar" revenue growth in the vendor's services, which include the App Store, Apple Music and AppleTV, among others. Services generated $9.5bn in revenue, an increase of 31 per cent year on year.
Subscriptions to Apple's services surpassed $300m, indicating a 60 per cent increase in the past year.
"Revenue from subscriptions accounts for a significant and increasing percentage of our overall services business," said Cook, in a call transcribed by Seeking Alpha.
Its accessories range, which includes AirPods, Beats headphones and the Apple Watch, recorded revenues of $10bn.
The only wobble in the tech giant's success was in sales of its MacBook, which sold 3.1 million units in the quarter, a fall of 13 per cent year on year.
"Our year-over-year sales performance was affected by the different timing of the MacBook Pro launch which did not occur until early Q4 this year as opposed to June last year, with the subsequent channel fill during the June quarter," Cook explained to investors.
However, Holway said that the fall in sales could be due to less expensive competitors in the PC market.
"At one time MacBooks were worth the premium. But Apple has failed to update the range while others have very sleek and fast competitors at a lower price," he said.
Cook said the company is working with key partners in enterprise to change the way work is done with its iOS operating system and Mac.
"We couldn't be more excited about the products and services in our pipeline as well as limitless applications for augmented reality and machine-learning technology," said Cook.
The company expects revenue to hit between $60bn and $62bn for its Q4.