How strong is Apple? We reveal five eye-opening statistics

After a rare earnings miss in Q3, normal service was resumed for Apple yesterday as the US tech giant's Q4 2011 profits easily beat analyst expectations.

The company reported a doubling of net profit to just over $13bn for a period it terms its fiscal first quarter, during which it sold 37 million iPhones. Apple shares hit a fresh record high of $454.44 at the start of trading yesterday, and have now risen by 31% over the past 12 months and 424% over the past five years. Here are five further statistics that put Apple's financial strength in a wider context: - Apple's quarterly per-share profit of $13.87 is more than it made in any full year prior to 2010, according to Bloomberg. - With a market cap of around $419bn, Apple is now...