Apple's very weird day

First the stock continued its free fall, dropping another $11.42, to $560.28 (it had been as high as $644 earlier this month). Then came the quarterly earnings results, which were stupendous. The company nearly doubled its profit, to $11.62 billion for the quarter ended March 31. That topped expectations by 23 percent. And here's the big number: More than 35 million iPhones were sold in the quarter, an 88 percent increase from a year ago. After the results, Apple's after-hours stock price soared to over $600, more than making up for the drop earlier today. I can't imagine what tomorrow might bring. From Reuters:

Margins blew past forecasts - helped by lower-than-expected commodity costs - while a five-fold iPhone sales surge in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong bolstered revenue in the region to $7.9 billion. Some investors had feared intensifying competition from Google Inc's Android phones - made by the likes of Motorola and Samsung Electronics - might pressure margins and eat into its market share. "That shows they are able to maintain their pricing without compromising on growth," said Morningstar analyst Michael Holt.

Chart: NYT