Analysts were actually below what was posted this quarter. Next quarter looks to be disappointing for analysts, they are aiming higher and Apple's guidance is lower ...
Apple always low-balls their guidance and it is always well below most analyst estimates, so nothing to go on there.
Even their "bad" quarter Q4 2011 had a guidance of $25 billion and $5.50 earnings per share with actual numbers of $28.27 billion and $7.03 a share (which was up from $20.34 billion and $4.64 per share in Q4 2010).
Even their "bad" quarter Q4 2011 had a guidance of $25 billion and $5.50 earnings per share with actual numbers of $28.27 billion and $7.03 a share (which was up from $20.34 billion and $4.64 per share in Q4 2010).