Apple reported $25.5 billion in sales from its Greater China segment for the fiscal first quarter ended December 27, 2025, marking a 38% year-over-year surge that far exceeded Wall Street’s average forecast of $21.8 billion.
CEO Tim Cook credited the standout performance to a massive wave of smartphone upgraders and switchers from competing platforms, which propelled the installed base in Greater China — and specifically mainland China — to all-time highs.
“It was the best iPhone quarter in history in Greater China,” Cook said, highlighting the iPhone 17 lineup as the key driver behind the record results. He also pointed to strong momentum in other international markets, including India, where the company achieved a December quarter revenue record across iPhone, iPad, and Mac categories.
Mark Gurman for Bloomberg News:
The numbers cap a surprising recovery for the company, which has struggled to regain momentum in China — a onetime growth engine. The revenue was Apple’s second-highest quarterly total ever in the region, nearing a holiday-quarter record of $25.8 billion from four years ago.
Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook attributed the performance to a surge in smartphone upgraders. Switchers from other platforms also grew by a double-digit percentage, he said. That increased the installed base in greater China and mainland China to all-time records.
Cook added that retail store traffic in China grew by a double-digit rate as well. Moreover, the majority of buyers of non-iPhones, such as Apple Watches, iPads and Macs, are new to those product lines in China, he said.
Apple made inroads in other overseas markets as well. India set a December quarter record for the iPhone, iPad and Mac, as well as an all-time tally for services. “We really like what we see there,” Cook said, adding that India remains a strong opportunity given the company’s still-modest market share.
MacDailyNews Take: Nice China performance, but the headroom for Apple in India is almost immeasurable!
Please help support MacDailyNews — and enjoy subscriber-only articles, comments, chat, and more — by subscribing to our Substack: macdailynews.substack.com. Thank you!
Support MacDailyNews at no extra cost to you by using this link to shop at Amazon.
