iPhone 17 China Sales Surge 38% on "Cosmic Orange"; AAPL +7% in One Week

Apple (AAPL-US) reported fourth-quarter revenue in China rising 38% to $26 billion in 2025, accounting for nearly one-fifth of its global revenue and ending a three-year sales decline. The turnaround was driven by the iPhone 17 lineup, particularly the "Cosmic Orange" color, dubbed "Hermès Orange," which trended phenomenally on social platforms and resonated with Chinese consumers as a status symbol. Design and color strategy, leveraging the color's association with luxury and the auspicious connotation of "orange" sounding like "success" in Chinese, combined with hardware upgrades in imaging, chip performance, display, and battery, and with government subsidies for mid-to-high-end phones, drove a strong early refresh cycle. The results supported Apple amid trade and AI pressures, lifting its stock about 7% in the past week.