CRI听力:Apple Reports Record Third Quarter Results

Beating analysts' estimates for profits and revenue, Apple posted 3rd quarter earnings of $1.85 per share.

But with IPhone sales coming in below expectations at around 47.5 million for the last three months, Apple shares took a dive shortly after earnings were announced.

And senior equity analyst at S&P Capital IQ Angelo Zino says Apple's performance is significant not only for the tech sector but the US stock market in general.

"Apple now contributes to about 20% to the total of the S&P 500 market cap, the total weighting of the S&P 500 so Apple's results are extremely important. We believe for the technology sector and the overall broader market indices."

This year China became the world's biggest market for iPhones- due largely to the huge demand for the iPhone 6 and the larger screened iPhone 6 Plus.

But after strong sales at the start of the year, many analysts feared that a saturated marketplace along with fears over a stagnating economy could see sales dwindle.

Posting sales in Greater China at $13.23 billion dollars the picture however remains rosy, with Apple CEO Tim Cook calling the performance "outstanding."

And for CEO of Quantum Networks Ari Zoldan- he says Apple's dominance in China is likely to stay.

"Every smartphone manufacturer, every technology company across every sector is going to be vulnerable to any kind of economic swing and as long as Apple continues to focus on their core technology and continues to build a very good brand, they're going to be in a great position."

Analysts are eager for a glimpse into how the Apple Watch is selling but they'll have to wait a little longer.

Watch figures were bundled into other sales of products like iPods and Apple TVs but S&P Capital estimate around 4-5 million devises were sold in the third quarter.

Some analysts expect the smartwatch to sell better when the second and third generations are released- but Ari Zoldan believes Apple should focus on their major seller - the iPhone.

"I don't see the Apple Watch as the holy grail, I think that Apple has to continue to focus on what they're good at and that's the iPhone. I just don't see the Apple Watch really taking off as a lot of people were expecting it too."

But according to Apple's CEO Tim Cook the Apple Watch has exceeded sales expectations.

Investors hope this trend continues especially with sales of the iPad once again falling short of Wall Street expectations.

For CRI, I'm William Denselow in New York.