Apple Stock Ticks Up After a Surprise From China—and a Legal Win

China is importing more foreign-branded mobile phones, including the iPhone, research data show. (AFP via Getty Images)

Key Points

• China’s imports of foreign-branded mobile phones, including iPhones, increased by 128% in November compared to the previous year.
• A U.S. District Court judge denied Masimo’s request to block Apple Watch imports, a temporary win in an ongoing patent dispute.
• Apple’s stock has risen 9% in 2025, underperforming the 25% gain of the Roundhill Magnificent Seven exchange-traded fund.

After a year of navigating strict new tariffs, it is perhaps fitting that the headlines impacting Apple stock this week have revolved around China and trade.

China’s imports of foreign-branded mobile phones, including Apple’s iPhone, rose 128% in November from the same month last year, Reuters reported on Christmas, citing data from a government-affiliated research firm.

Overall phone shipments rose 1.9% in China, with shipments of foreign-branded phones rising to 6.93 million units, data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology showed.

Apple stock was up 0.3% on Friday in a sleepy post-Christmas session. Shares gained 0.5% on Christmas Eve, the first day of the rally period.

Earlier in the week, a judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia denied a request by Masimo to block Apple Watch imports as part of Masimo’s lawsuit against U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The temporary win was part of a yearslong dispute with Masimo over whether Apple infringed on the company’s blood-oxygen sensor patents.

The International Trade Commission, or ITC, is probing whether Apple’s redesigned watches fall within a limited exclusion order issued in 2023 prohibiting the importation of infringing devices.

Apple told Barron’s that Masimo wants the ITC to prevent Apple Watch wearers from accessing the watch’s redesigned blood-oxygen feature. Masimo no longer sells its medical watches to the public, Apple said.

Masimo didn’t immediately respond to Barron’s request for comment.

Last month, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, a jury found that Apple infringed on a Masimo patent, and awarded $634 million in damages to Masimo.

“This is a significant win in our ongoing efforts to protect our innovations and intellectual property, which is crucial to our ability to develop technology that benefits patients,” Masimo said in a statement after the November verdict.

Apple shareholders will be hoping for a Santa Claus rally to close out the year. The stock has underperformed its megacap peers in 2025, rising 9% as of Wednesday’s close compared to a 25% gain for the Roundhill Magnificent Seven exchange-traded fund.

Write to Nate Wolf at nate.wolf@barrons.com