The typically cautious Apple Inc's guidance for its present fiscal quarter sprung a surprise on the Wall Street analysts! Though below expectations, the guidance, as Goldman Sachs' David Bailey put it, is "not as bad as much-lowered expectations."

The company said that for its second fiscal quarter, it expected earnings per share to be somewhere between 90 cents to $1, and its revenue between $7.6 billion and $8 billion. The figures being expected by analysts at the Wall Street were - earnings of $1.13 per share on $8.2 billion in revenue.

Peter Oppenheimer, Apple's Chief Financial Officer, told analysts during a conference call that forecasting had been a challenge in the wake of the "rather low visibility." Oppenheimer added that the guidance reflects his confidence which stems from the fact that Apple is "now shipping its best products ever. From what is visible today, these are the best."

The quarter that ended December 27, saw a record 22.7 million sales of the portable music devices by Apple. The company's $1.61 billion net profits, as well as its $10.17 billion revenue, both are figures that represented new records.

In a press release that accompanied the exceptional results, CEO Steve Jobs said: "Even in these economically challenging times, we are incredibly pleased to report our best quarterly revenue and earnings in Apple history - surpassing $10 billion in quarterly revenue for the first time ever."

While Apple's guidance provided an optimistic picture, the questions about Steve Jobs' health still remained unanswered! (Rupinder Kaur contributed to this report.)