Best Ideas Newsletter holding Apple (click ticker for report: AAPL) posted solid results Tuesday afternoon.  Apple exceeded consensus earnings expectations earning $10.09 per share versus an expectation of $10.07. Revenue grew 11% year-over-year to $43.6 billion, exceeding consensus estimates by over $1 billion. Free cash flow totaled $31.6 billion during the first 6 months of the fiscal year, an increase of 10% compared to the same period a year ago.

Importantly, the company also announced expanded intentions to repurchase shares and boosted its dividend 15%. The firm’s buyback was raised to $60 billion (from $10 billion), and it will also use $1 billion annually to offset restricted stock grant dilution. We’ll provide full analysis after the conference call.