Apple earnings beat the Street but the easy days could soon be over

No doubt, Apple earnings were a home run. They beat the Street numbers by 40 cents and beat whisper numbers by another 20 cents. Shares blasted through the $200 mark in the after hours as investors went berserk over the Mac company, which reported earnings for the period ending September 26, of $1.67 billion, up from $1.14 billion in the same period one year ago.

Oddly enough, this quarterly release could signify the last of the salad days for Apple (AAPL). On the horizon, powerful competitors are massing for a concentrated assault on Apple.