Apple stock rallies on expanded iPhone plans, China chip talks

Apple shares surged Thursday after Nikkei Asia reported plans for five new iPhones by 2027, including a foldable with production targets raised to 10 million units.cnbc
Bloomberg reported Apple is negotiating to buy memory chips from two Pentagon-blacklisted Chinese firms for devices sold exclusively in China.straitstimes+1
The talks follow Apple's June 25 price hikes of up to $300 on Macs and iPads, driven by an AI-fueled global memory shortage.cbsnews

Apple shares surged more than 4% on Thursday as investors cheered reports of an expanded iPhone launch strategy and news that the company is pursuing memory chip deals with Chinese manufacturers, offering a potential path out of the global shortage that forced steep price hikes across its product line just days earlier.

Five iPhones and a Foldable Push

According to Nikkei Asia, as reported by CNBC on Thursday, Apple plans to launch at least five new iPhone models between the second half of 2026 and the first half of 2027. The lineup includes the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and Apple's first foldable iPhone for this fall, followed by the standard iPhone 18 and a new iPhone Air in early 2027. Apple has instructed suppliers to prepare for production of about 10 million foldable iPhones this year, up from an earlier forecast of 7 to 8 million units, while securing components for approximately 80 million smartphones across new models for the second half of 2026.cnbc+1

Chinese Memory Chip Discussions

Separately, Bloomberg reported Thursday that Apple is in active negotiations to source DRAM from ChangXin Memory Technologies and NAND flash from Yangtze Memory Technologies for devices sold exclusively in China. Both companies sit on the Pentagon's Section 1260H list of firms alleged to have ties to China's military. The Financial Times first reported Apple's lobbying efforts in late June, noting that CEO Tim Cook has appealed to Trump administration officials to ease the political fallout of any deal. No agreement has been finalized.tftc+5

The talks come after Apple raised prices on June 25 across its Mac and iPad lineup by up to $300, citing "an extraordinary surge in demand for memory and storage" driven by AI data center expansion. The MacBook Pro starting price jumped to $1,999 from $1,699, while the iPad Air rose to $749 from $599. Shares fell roughly 6.5% in the days following those increases.cbsnews+1

Jobs Data Adds Tailwind

A weak June employment report released Thursday morning provided an additional boost. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the U.S. economy added just 57,000 jobs in June, well below the 115,000 economists had forecast. Treasury yields fell as traders interpreted the data as reducing the likelihood of further Federal Reserve rate increases. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed to an all-time high, though the broader Nasdaq Composite ended the shortened pre-holiday session slightly lower.usatoday+3

Apple's stock, which traded near $294 on Wednesday, rose to approximately $307.70 on Thursday, a gain of about 4.5%, according to TradingEconomics.tradingeconomics

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