Apple Stock Target Cut as Morgan Stanley Flags Tariff, Siri Delays

Nauman khan

Wed, Mar 12, 2025, 10:47 a.m. 1 min read

March 12 - Morgan Stanley lowered its earnings per share estimate for Apple Inc. (AAPL, Financial) to $8.00 for fiscal year 2026 from $8.52, citing China tariff headwinds as incremental costs remain only partially offset. Analyst Erik Woodring noted that without broad tariff exemptions, these additional costs will persist.

The financial services firm also reduced its price target for Apple from $275 to $252 while maintaining an Overweight rating. Additionally, Morgan Stanley trimmed its iPhone shipment forecast for calendar year 2025 to 230 million units from 243 million due to a delay in integrating Apple Intelligence into Siri, Apple's voice-activated digital assistant.

Originally slated for a May rollout, the advanced Siri update, designed to offer on-screen awareness, personal context, and deep app integration, is now expected next year. Woodring emphasized that the delay in an upgraded Siri, a top AI feature for prospective iPhone upgraders, has dampened market prospects. Recent survey data underscores that advanced AI capabilities continue to drive consumer upgrade decisions.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.