Greater China Grew 40% Since 2015 Yet Fell to 17% of Apple

Apple’s Greater China net sales were $82.378 billion in fiscal 2026, the highest of the twelve fiscal years from 2015 in its 10-K filings and 40.3% above fiscal 2015’s $58.715 billion, by our arithmetic. The region’s share of Apple’s total net sales was 17.2%, against 25.1% in fiscal 2015.

Over the same years, Apple’s other four regions combined grew 126.5%, to $396.456 billion from $175.000 billion, our arithmetic from the segment tables.

Business Pill · Concentration

An evergreen Business Engineer explainer on concentration, when a few big pieces make the total. It teaches the general idea only and does not discuss Apple’s results.

Go deeper: how Greater China ties into Apple as a market, a segment margin and a supply base: How Apple’s China Exposure Works: 17% of Sales, 42.9% Margin.

What the 10-K Tables Show

The fiscal 2026 Form 10-K, filed on 3 November, puts Greater China net sales at $82.378 billion, up 28% from $64.377 billion, out of total net sales of $478.834 billion. That is 17.2% of the total, up from 15.5% in fiscal 2025, by our arithmetic. The segment covers China mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Apple writes that Greater China net sales rose “primarily due to higher net sales of iPhone and Mac”, and that “The strength in the renminbi relative to the U.S. dollar had a favorable year-over-year impact on Greater China net sales during 2026”.

What Was Posted on X

The Transcript quoted Apple’s CFO on the call: Greater China revenue was up 21% in the September quarter and 28% for the full year. By our arithmetic from the 10-K, the full year took the region to 17.2% of Apple’s net sales, against 25.1% in fiscal 2015.

Polymarket posted on 3 November that Apple’s China sales rose 21% to a new quarterly record. Apple’s releases put Greater China at $17.539 billion in the September 2026 quarter; the December 2025 quarter was larger, at $25.526 billion, as we reported on 2 November.

Twelve Years of Shares

The fiscal 2015 figures come from the 10-K for fiscal 2017, which reports Greater China at $58.715 billion of $233.715 billion. By our arithmetic, the region’s share was 25.1% in fiscal 2015, 22.5% in 2016, 19.5% in 2017, 19.6% in 2018 and 16.8% in 2019.

It reached its low of 14.7% in fiscal 2020, then ran at 18.7%, 18.8% and 18.9% from 2021 to 2023, before 17.1% in 2024, 15.5% in 2025 and 17.2% in 2026, our arithmetic from the 10-Ks for fiscal 2020, 2023 and 2026.

Europe passed Greater China in fiscal 2016, $49.952 billion against $48.492 billion, and has had higher net sales every year since. In fiscal 2026 Europe’s $127.604 billion was $45.226 billion, or 1.55 times, Greater China’s. From fiscal 2015 to 2026, Europe’s share rose to 26.6% from 21.5%, Rest of Asia Pacific’s to 8.3% from 6.5% and the Americas’ to 41.4% from 40.2%, while Japan’s eased to 6.5% from 6.7%, by our arithmetic.

How This Fits the Earlier Figures

Our 2 November piece found that Greater China supplied 29% of Apple’s fiscal 2026 revenue growth. That was measured against a 15.5% share of revenue in fiscal 2025, the second-lowest of the twelve years, by our arithmetic.

Our 4 November follow-up found that the region earned $35.326 billion of segment operating income at a 42.9% margin, the lowest of Apple’s five regions, by our arithmetic from the 10-K.

What the Risk Factors Say

The same 10-K rewrote the components risk factor, which now reads “Future operating results depend upon the Company’s ability to obtain components, compute capacity and storage resources in sufficient quantities and on commercially reasonable terms”. By our count it grew to 652 words from 279, as we reported on 4 November.

Connecting the Coverage

This is the third piece in the series, after Greater China drove 29% of Apple’s FY2026 revenue growth and Greater China earned Apple $35.3B at the lowest margin of 5. We also reported Apple’s vendors owe it a record $39.9B.

The Structural Read

As we read the segment tables, Greater China’s fiscal 2026 growth lifted its share for the first time since fiscal 2023, to 17.2% from 15.5%, but left it below every year from fiscal 2015 to fiscal 2018 and from fiscal 2021 to fiscal 2023.

As we read them, the 29% share of revenue growth we reported on 2 November started from a low base: fiscal 2025’s 15.5% was the second-lowest share of the twelve years, by our arithmetic.

Three Implications

FOR APPLE INVESTORS Greater China was 17.2% of Apple’s fiscal 2026 net sales, against 25.1% in fiscal 2015, by our arithmetic.

FOR THE EUROPEAN BUSINESS Europe has had higher net sales than Greater China every fiscal year since 2016; in fiscal 2026 it was 1.55 times Greater China, by our arithmetic.

FOR THE SERIES Greater China supplied 29% of fiscal 2026 revenue growth and earned a 42.9% segment margin, the lowest of five regions, as we reported on 2 and 4 November.

The Business Engineer Lens

This story maps onto the Business Engineer framework AI’s Geopolitical Chokepoint.

The framework says the chokepoint is “creating geopolitical leverage that operates independently of who has the best models”.

As we read it, Apple’s 10-K tables show one side of that relationship in sales terms: Greater China is a smaller share of Apple’s net sales than in fiscal 2015, even after a 28% year. The framework, published in December 2025, does not discuss Apple.

Related coverage: Greater China Earned Apple $35.3B at the Lowest Margin of 5

What Is Not Established

The 10-K does not give Greater China net sales by product or for Services, so the shares cannot be split into iPhone, Mac or Services. Apple does not quantify the renminbi effect in the segment discussion. Each year’s figures come from the latest 10-K that reports it; we did not read fiscal years before 2015, so we do not call fiscal 2026 a record beyond the twelve years read.

The Bottom Line

Greater China’s fiscal 2026 net sales of $82.378 billion were 40.3% above fiscal 2015’s, while the rest of Apple grew 126.5%, so the region’s share of Apple’s net sales fell to 17.2% from 25.1%, by our arithmetic from Apple’s 10-K segment tables.