Apple Inc. hit a rare bump in the road, just as it began to transition to life without Steve Jobs.

The company didn't sell as many iPhones as Wall Street was hoping for in the recent quarter, a period during which co-founder Mr. Jobs handed the reins to new Chief Executive Tim Cook. Mr. Jobs died after a long battle with pancreatic cancer earlier this month.

Some analysts said the results shouldn't be seen as too negative. 'We don't think this is a slowdown in [market] share gains, it's a pause,' said Brian Marshall, an analyst ISI Group.

Apple's results add to a mixed picture of how the tech industry is weathering the economic slowdown. International Business Machines Corp. this week reported weaker-than-expected results, fueling concerns among investors that tech spending is softening. Internet advertising giant Google Inc.'s growth remained brisk, with ad sales accelerating during the quarter ending in September.

The results come as Silicon Valley has been mourning the loss of Mr. Jobs, whose passing has industry watchers asking whether Apple can continue its streak. Mr. Jobs is credited with transforming the company by consistently pioneering new products and marketing them with pizzazz.

Meanwhile, the competitivelandscape around Apple has been heating up. Apple has leapfrogged BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion Ltd. to become the top seller of smartphones in the U.S., with 27% of such sales in the first half of the year, according to research firm IDC.

But Apple's position on the software side of the market is weaker. Google's Android software, which is used by a variety of hardware makers, powered 54% of smartphones sold in the U.S. during that period while Apple's iOS software powered 27%, according to IDC.

Still, Gene Munster, a research analyst with Piper Jaffray & Co., said recent sales for the iPhone 4S