Apple (AAPL), this world's most valuable company (at $475 billion), posted better than expected earnings results after close yesterday

Apple (AAPL), this world's most valuable company (at $475 billion), posted better than expected earnings results after close yesterday. However, there were some red flags in the report which resulted in a 2.5% decline in the share price today. First off, earnings came in at $8.26 per share - substantially higher than the $7.92 consensus estimate. The company generated $37.5 billion in revenues, which also beat the $36.8 billion projected. The big growth catalyst for Apple was the launch of two new iPhones. In fact, 33.8 million iPhones were sold for the quarter (analysts had predicted 32 million). On the negative side of things, the iPad sold 14.1 million units, less than the 14.5 million expected. Plus, gross margin came in higher than expected (at 37%). However, iPad sales should get a boost from the new products going on sales this quarter.