Apple delivered a stellar fourth quarter by bringing in almost $27 billion in revenue during the holiday season a4��a4� another record for the iPhone and Mac manufacturer.

But the numbers really do speak for themselves.��Here are some highlights from the company&'s announcement today of its fourth quarter performance ending in December:

Those are some pretty staggering results. Apple, the largest consumer technology company in the world, has reached a market cap of $312.5 billion and is now the second largest company in the world a4��a4� and is fast approaching ExxonMobil, the largest company in the world with a market cap of nearly $400 billion.

All eyes are on Apple&'s next quarter, in which the company will be under the guidance of Tim Cook now that Steve Jobs has decided to take some personal time off.��The company is releasing its iPhone on Verizon&'s network next month, Applea4��a4�s iPad 2 is expected to ship around April, and the company is expected to field a new iPhone by the summer. Even without Steve Jobs and with the company on cruise control, Apple looks like it&'s in good shape.

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Tags: App Store, iOS, iPad, iPhone, ipod, mac

Companies: Apple

People: Steve Jobs, Tim Cook

Tags: App Store, iOS, iPad, iPhone, ipod, mac

Companies: Apple

People: Steve Jobs, Tim Cook

Matthew Lynley is VentureBeat's enterprise writer. He graduated from University of North Carolina, where he studied math and physics, in May 2010. He has reported for Reuters. He currently lives in San Francsico, Calif. You can reach him at mattl@venturebeat.com (all story pitches should also be sent to tips@venturebeat.com), and on Twitter at @logicalmoron.

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