Shares of Apple (AAPL: sentiment, chart, options) were halted in after-hours trading just before the company released its fourth-quarter earnings figures. For the quarter, AAPL posted net income of $1.26 per share on revenue of $7.9 billion. Analysts were looking for a profit of $1.11 per share. Digging into the sales figures, AAPL shipped 2.6 million Macs, 6.9 million iPhones, and 11 million iPods during the quarter.

Looking ahead, the company expects first-quarter earnings of $1.06 to $1.35 per share, on revenue of $9 billion to $10 billion. However, CEO Steve Jobs noted that he doesn't "yet know how this economic downturn will affect Apple."

Sentiment was heavily bullish on AAPL heading into the report. The stock's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.76 is lower that 78% of all those taken during the past year, while 15 of the 20 analysts following the shares rate them a "buy" or better. Given AAPL's uncertain outlook, we could see a few of these bulls shaken loose, and downgrades could extend today's 7% decline into tomorrow's trading.