Apple hits a speed bump in Q2 after its stock soared in the past year

Apple hit a little snag in the second quarter, falling slightly under what Wall Street expected in its earnings report — causing a slight drop after its stock has jumped massively in the past year.

The company reported earnings of $2.10 per share on revenue of $52.9 billion. Wall street was looking for earnings of $2.02 per share on revenue of around $53 billion. It also sold 50.8 million iPhones, whereas analysts expected Apple to sell 51.4 million iPhones. This is a slight miss on a few marks, which in the grand scheme of things might not be that big of a deal — if only an unexpected trip-up as the tide seems to have turned as to whether Apple can keep growing.

Apple shares hit a 52-week high this afternoon before trading ended, and in the past year have been on a very steady rise. That’s even amid plenty of concern that its core driver — the iPhone — will no longer be the rocket ship it used to be driving Apple’s stock up. Instead, its portfolio of other products (services in particular) are starting to show signs of steady growth, meaning Apple’s ceiling may be higher than simply getting record iPhone sales every quarter.

Not surprisingly, Apple once again showed growth in services revenue. Apple brought in $7 billion in revenue from services, up from around $6 billion in the second quarter last year. This still isn’t the same rocket ship as the iPhone, but it is growing at a healthy clip. The pitch — one that kept its revenue from dropping off — may have even been more important than the results.

Seriously. Take a look at the chart! In the past year, Apple shares are up more than 50%....