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We’re thrilled to report our best quarter ever, with the highest revenue and earnings in Apple’s history.”

–Apple CEO Steve Jobs

Well, the street didn’t much care for Apple’s latest financial guidance, did it? Shares of the company tumbled in after-hours trading after Apple offered a disappointing second-quarter outlook.

Though Apple posted its highest quarterly earnings and sales in history today thanks to strong sales of Macs and iPods, its second-quarter guidance fell well short of Wall Street’s expectations. Looking ahead, Apple said it expects earnings of 94 cents a share on revenue of $6.8 billion in its second quarter. Wall Street was looking for earnings of $1.09 a share on revenue of $6.99 billion.

And with concerns of an economic slowdown looming large after Intel issued a cautious outlook for 2008 last week, the market reacted with predictable knee-jerk horror, sending Apple shares down more than 11% 15% 17% in after-hours trading. “All of the numbers were fine,” Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster told CNBC. “They continued to gain market share. The issue is that people wanted a more confident ‘guide.’ There’s nothing wrong with the actual numbers, it’s just that people are worried there’s going to be a break.”

Or that we’re already at the beginning of one: iPod sales in the states were flat year-over-year …