The iPhone doesn’t fall far from the tree. Apple reported a surge in revenues last quarter as iPhone sales revenue jumped a fifth from last year. That’s thanks to the iPhone 6, which went on sale just eight days before the quarter’s end. Unit sales of the iPhone rose 16 per cent – a similar pattern to previous new releases, but bigger. Bendy or not, the phone is keeping Apple’s margins firm: gross margin rose to 38 per cent in the quarter, from 37 per cent last year. Though iPhone 6 sales were not disclosed, strong demand for the new, more expensive phones was underlined in the average selling price for all iPhones, which rose 4.5 per cent year on year.

Sales of the iPhone made up the bulk of Apple’s growth, but the other branches of the company look healthy too. Back-to-school purchases boosted Mac sales revenues, which were up 18 per cent over the previous year. Sales of the iPad continued to decline, falling 13 per cent; their sales are increasingly a sideshow to Apple’s bottom line. Apple expects the bumper crop to continue through the holidays: guidance for the current quarter is $65bn in revenues at the midpoint, exceeding analysts’ expectations of $63.4bn, according to S&P Capital IQ.

All this success will grow Apple’s cash pile – and the debate over what to do with these resources will grow louder, too. Net cash has decreased slightly over the past year, to $120bn at the end of last quarter, from $130bn the previous year. Apple’s shareholders understandably want the company to return more of this to them.