Apple Inc. on Wednesday reported holiday quarter sales and profits that beat Wall Street expectations as China proved a strong market with overall sales surging by 57 percent to $21.31 billion.

"We had two of the top three selling smartphones in urban China," Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook told Reuters in an interview, adding that "upgraders, in particular, had set an all-time record in China."

Apple, the biggest U.S. listed public company by market capitalization, with a value of $2.4 trillion, has thrived through a pandemic that forced it to shutter many of its stores. However, the pandemic has also prompted many consumers to buy or upgrade devices.

"Their challenge is keeping up the success to justify the now-premium valuation," Trip Miller, managing partner at Apple investor Gullane Capital Partners.

The company's revenue for the quarter ended December 26 rose by 21 percent to $111.44 billion, with international sales accounting for nearly two-thirds of the revenue.

Earnings per share rose to $1.68 from $1.25, beating Wall Street targets, according to data from  global financial market data provider Refinitiv. iPhone sales were $65.6 billion, beating a record set three years ago.

Cook said the company now has an active installed base of 1.65 billion devices, compared with 1.5 billion devices a year ago. He added that Apple now has an installed base of more than 1 billion iPhones, increasing over the 900 million the company most recently disclosed in 2019.

Apple has 620 million paying subscribers on its platform, ahead of its goal to have 600 million subscribers by the end of 2020, Cook said.

The services segment also includes sales from Apple's App Store, whose billing practices have become a flashpoint of conflict with "Fortnite" creator Epic Games and whose privacy rules have sparked a public spat with Facebook Inc.

Facebook Inc. on Wednesday also delivered stunning gains in profits and revenues over the past quarter, reporting a profit of $11.2 billion on revenue of $28 billion and increases of 53 percent and 33 percent when compared with the same period the prior year.

The company saw its global user base increase in a world roiled by the coronavirus outbreak.

"We had a strong end to the year as people and businesses continued to use our services during these challenging times," said Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg.

(With input from Reuters, AFP)