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 ...
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).