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Apple reports record $18B profit, readies Apple Watch for April release

Posted at 7:12 PM, Jan 27, 2015
and last updated 2015-01-28 17:19:05-05

If Isaac Newton’s head is a revenue target, Apple just gave him a concussion.

The computer and electronics company announced record sales and $18 billion in profits in the first quarter Tuesday, due in large part to sales of 74.5 million iPhones.

Revenue increased 30 percent from last year to $74.6 billion. The announcement came after markets closed.

Apple CEO Tim Cook called the quarterly results “simply phenomenal.”

“We’d like to thank our customers for an incredible quarter, which saw demand for Apple products soar to an all-time high,” Cook said in a press release.

iPhone sales made up about two-thirds of Apple's profits. The larger model iPhone 6 was released in September.

Apple’s only blemish was the iPad, which saw a 18 percent decrease in sales from a year ago, to 21.42 million.

Cook announced in a conference call that the Apple Watch, the company’s first major new product since the iPad was released in 2010, will launch in April.

It’s also the first new product – not an upgrade – released by Apple since Steve Jobs died.

Gavin Stern is a national digital producer for the Scripps National Desk. Follow him on Twitter at @GavinStern.