Apple has reported its first quarterly drop in profits in a decade. However, its results beat analysts expectations.
The computer and smartphone maker made a profit of $US9.5 billion for the three months to the end of March, down from the US11.6 billion it reported for the same period last year.
But the BBC reports the results were better than many investors and analysts had expected and strong sales of iPhones and iPads helped boost revenues to $US43-.6 billion.
Investors have lost their appetite for Apple shares which has lost about 40% of its stock market value since hitting an all-time high in September last year.
Although Apple remains a dominant player in the tablet computer and smartphone markets, investors were worried that its market share was being eroded by increasingly popular offerings from rivals such as Samsung.
CNET editor Scott Stein said Apple is losing its dominance as the tech agenda setter.
