Apple Inc's quarterly revenue smashed Wall Street expectations for at least the 9th straight quarter, driven by blockbuster sales of its hot iPhones and iPads.

Apple, notorious for its conservative forecasts, estimated earnings for the September quarter of $5.50 a share on revenue of $25 billion, which came in lower than analysts' average estimate of $6.45 a share on revenue of $27.7 billion.

The Cupertino, California company said on Tuesday 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.

Shares of the world's most valuable technology company have emerged from the limbo they had fallen into since Chief Executive Steve Jobs took leave last January for unspecified medical reasons. The stock price has gained nearly 19 percent since hitting a year low on June 20. The rally has added $54.8 billion to Apple's market cap since then.

(Additional reporting by Edwin Chan in Los Angeles; Editing by Richard Chang)

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