Morgan Stanley: Raises Apple's fourth-quarter shipment forecast to 54 million units by the end of September

Morgan Stanley released a research report stating that the shipment volume of Apple's iPhone 15 smartphones in July was stronger than expected, raising the shipment forecast for the fourth quarter ending in late September to 54 million units, implying an 8% year-on-year increase. Although the sell-through rate of iPhones in early October remains crucial for the growth in the next cycle, momentum seems to have already started building up before the launch of the iPhone 16. Morgan Stanley mentioned that since Apple's fourth-quarter forecasts have never fallen short of expectations since 2016, they believe that the company has already provided revenue guidance with an upward buffer, hence the bank believes that the increase in iPhone shipments in July has increased the possibility of exceeding expectations in the fourth quarter. The bank set a target price of $273 for Apple and rated it as "hold"