Apple (AAPL) crushed its quarterly earnings reports on Monday, posting $42.1 billion in sales and a net profit of $8.5 billion, or $1.42 per share. That beat analysts’ already optimistic estimates and sent the company’s stock ticking upward a percentage point in after-hours trading.

Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook and his board of directors also issued another tidy bonus to shareholders: a dividend of $0.47 per share of stock, payable to investors on Nov. 13. It may not quiet down Carl Icahn, but it’s Apple’s 10th dividend in the last three years.

Apple set internal records up and down its balance sheet, from cash flow and net income to a revenue projection of $63.5 billion to $66.5 billion for its next quarter, during the holiday season. “Our fiscal 2014 was one for the record books, including the biggest iPhone launch ever with iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus,” Cook said.

Apple sold 39.27 million iPhones over the three months ended on Sept. 27. That’s up 16 percent from a year earlier; revenue rose 21 percent in the same period.

The one serious black mark for Apple was its flagging iPad line. The company sold 12.32 million tablets, down from 14.08 million from a year earlier. Revenue from the iPad fell 10 percent, declining faster than even the steadily dropping iPod. Analysts had expected a better performance from the product category.

That may not be all bad news for Apple. Many iPad users are simply opting to stick with their iPhones for nighttime browsing. But Apple is trying to revive the line with a holiday lineup that includes new iPad minis and iPad Airs. Apparently there’s still much work to be done.

(Bloomberg Businessweek)