Apple’s earnings report started late this afternoon, with the iPad maker doing as well as ever.  The Cupertino, CA tech giant reported $4.64 in EPS on revenues of $20.34 billion, exceeding analyst expectations of $4.08 per share, on sales of $18.93 billion.  Gross margin for apple was 36.9%, which is a drop from last quarter at 39.1%.

Another heavy hitter was Apple’s soaring sales numbers for the iPhone and iPad, with 14.1 million iPhones and 4.2 million iPads sold.  While iPhone sales beat projections by nearly 3 million, iPad sales were marginally lower than analysts’ 4.7 million estimate.

Apple’s stock has been performing very well this year, with the new iPhone and iPad launch, as well as a revamped lineup of its entire family of products.  However, the horizon may be a little bleaker, with Apple expecting revenue around $23 billion for Q1 of 2011, and earnings per share at $4.80.  That’s a little lower than the consensus estimates, which were higher at $5.07 per share.  This may cause some investors’ feathers to get ruffled, especially as Android continues to lay claim to the world of mobile devices.

While Apple may be a little conservative with their numbers, CFO Peter Oppenheimer is quick to note the company’s achievements during its tenure in the industry.  Some of the key highlights involve mostly sales stats (not a foriegn spin for Apple), boasting double-digit growth for portable and desktop devices, as the iMac and MacBook continue to hold strong in the market.  The iPod, while dropping in sales numbers compared to a year ago, is still the top-selling mp3 player, holding 70% of market share.

The biggest stats highlights, however, were the record-breaking numbers Apple posted for sales of the Mac, iPhone and iPad, bringing the company its highest quarterly revenue and earnings to date, including 3.9 milion Macs sold (a 27% year-over-year growth factor).