Nonetheless, Apple's revenue growth has been stuck between 1 percent and 6 percent for the past year. By contrast, the quarterly revenue of rival Google Inc. has been rising at 12 to 19 percent during the same stretch.
Apple expects its revenue for the current quarter ending in June to come in at about $37 billion, which would be another 5 percent increase from last year.
The quarter was highlighted by a 17 percent increase in iPhone sales from the same time last year to 43.7 million units, boosted by strong demand in China, the U.S., Western Europe and Japan.
But iPad sales fell 16 percent from last year to about 16.4 million tablets. Apple traced the decline to its inability to meet the demand for the iPad Mini during the holiday season of 2012. That prompted Apple to ramp up production in last year's January-March quarter, boosting sales higher than they otherwise would have been. The company said it managed iPad demand better during the 2013 holidays.
Even as Apple faces more competition from Samsung, other rivals have been releasing their own sleek and often cheaper devices. Most of those devices use Google Inc.'s free Android system, which Jobs believed had ripped off Apple's ideas.
Cook, Jobs' hand-picked successor, has repeatedly hinted that the company is putting the finishing touches on its first major breakthrough since the iPad came out four years ago. True to Apple's tight-lipped nature, Cook hasn't provided any details about what's in works.
Speculation has centered on an iPhone with a larger display screen, an Internet-connected watch that would also monitor users' health, a digital wallet built into Apple's devices, and a more sophisticated version of the Apple TV streaming device.
“We're expanding Apple's products and services into new categories and we are not going to underinvest in this business,” Cook told analysts as he explained why the company isn't diverting even more cash to stock repurchases and dividends.
