Apple is climbing after topping Wall Street's earnings expectations (AAPL)

Apple reported third-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street's expectations on Tuesday.
The company said it earned $2.43 per share on revenues of $53.3 billion
Shares climbed as much as 2.6% in after-hours trading
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Shares of Apple climbed as much as 2.6% in after-hours trading Tuesday following the tech giant's earnings report that topped Wall Street's expectations.

For the fiscal third quarter, Apple said it earned $2.34 per share on $53.3 billion in revenue. The Street had expected $2.18 per share and $53.31 billion, respectively.

iPhone sales came in slightly short of the expected 41.6 million units, at 41.3 million during what is typically Apple's slowest quarter for phone sales.

Revenue from services — one of it's fastest-growing units that includes Apple Music and the App Store — climbed 31% over the same quarter in 2017, hitting $9.55 billion.

"We’re thrilled to report Apple’s best June quarter ever, and our fourth consecutive quarter of double-digit revenue growth," said Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive, in a press release. "Our Q3 results were driven by continued strong sales of iPhone, Services and Wearables, and we are very excited about the products and services in our pipeline."

Apple is locked in a race with Microsoft, Amazon, and other mega-cap stocks to be the first $1 trillion company. Based on the number of outstanding shares at Tuesday's close, a stock price of $203.45 could take Apple past the milestone. It still has about $10 per share, or 2%, to go.

Shares of the company are up 13.44% since the beginning of 2018.

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