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San Francisco. Blockbuster sales of the iPhone and strong Asian business again helped Apple crush Wall Street’s expectations.

In the coming months, Apple is expected to roll out a new iPhone, which is likely to give the world’s most valuable technology company another shot in the arm and offer a stiff challenge to rivals such as Google and Research in Motion.

Sales of Apple’s iconic products far outpaced forecasts, helping drive a near-doubling of revenue in the fiscal third quarter. Apple reported on Tuesday that it sold 20.34 million iPhones during the quarter versus an expected 17 million to 18 million, which analysts say helped it vault past Nokia and Samsung Electronics to become the world’s biggest smartphone maker.

CCS Insight analyst John Jackson said the fact “they accomplished this without a new model speaks volumes about both their strength and the relative challenges facing competitors.”

The stellar results came as concern over iPad 2 supply constraints eased. Apple’s chief financial officer, Peter Oppenheimer, said more than one million iPads remained in stock at the end of June.

Apple sold 9.25 million iPads and 3.95 million Mac computers for the quarter.

The Cupertino, California, company said its fiscal third-quarter revenue rose to $28.57 billion, trouncing the average analyst estimate of $24.99 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

International sales accounted for 62 percent of the quarter’s revenue. Its quarterly EPS beat the average forecast by 33 percent, versus beats of about 20 percent in the past two quarters.

Executives told analysts they were particularly optimistic about China, where Apple was only “scratching the surface.” Asia-Pacific revenue more than tripled to $6.3 billion in the quarter.

Reuters, AFP