On November 3, Morgan Stanley lowered its target price for Apple ( Apple ) from $355 to $350, while maintaining a "overweight" rating. The firm noted that the growth of Apple's services business has slowed down, mainly due to factors such as App Store revenue, third-party licensing business, and exchange rates. This has also raised concerns in the market about the potential impact of artificial intelligence on some of Apple's services businesses. However, Morgan Stanley remains optimistic about Apple's product competitiveness and pricing power, believing that its growth momentum is expected to continue into the fiscal year 2027.

Morgan Stanley noted that although Apple launched two fewer new iPhone models this year than last, and its three main product lines faced limitations in component supply, the company still expects revenue for the December quarter to grow by 8.5% year-on-year, reflecting strong product demand and pricing power. However, Apple's gross margin guidance for the December quarter is about 100 basis points lower than the bank's expectations, mainly due to the failure to realize the anticipated tariff refunds of around $1 billion. Excluding this factor, the gross margin guidance is generally in line with expectations.

Based on the latest performance outlook, Morgan Stanley has lowered its earnings per share forecast for Apple for the fiscal year 2027 by $0.05 to $9.85, and reduced its annual earnings per share forecast for 2027 by $0.16 to $10. It also maintains a target price-earnings ratio of 35 times, thereby adjusting the target price to $350.