A new investment note from Morgan Stanley praises a stronger than expected start to sales for the iPhone 17 line, per their sources. Here’s what the report says.
Sales of iPhone 17 line creating higher expectations for next year
Apple shook up its iPhone lineup this year in several ways, and we just got another sign that it’s proving a hit so far.
Following initial reports of strong iPhone 17 demand, Morgan Stanley has now offered the latest evidence for early success.
Sam Boughedda at Investing.com summarizes:
Morgan Stanley raised its price target for Overweight-rated Apple shares to $298 from $240 in a note to clients on Thursday, citing a stronger-than-expected start to the iPhone 17 cycle.
“The iPhone 17 cycle is modestly stronger than we originally expected,” Morgan Stanley analysts wrote, adding that while “the market has already priced this in,” there remains “a positive bias to T12M estimates, and the early drivers of iPhone 17 strength get us more excited about the iPhone 18 cycle.”
Global iPhone Air demand seems especially hard to determine so far, since it’s still not available in China. However, Morgan Stanley predicts a build increase soon for Apple’s three other models: iPhone 17, 17 Pro, and 17 Pro Max.
Top comment by Paul Neal
Seems the base 17 and the 17 Pro both have lead times stretching 2-3 weeks. You can pick up any of the Airs today. I don't think the Air is proving a hit in the UK.
The early success of the iPhone 17 line has sparked even more excitement within the firm around the potential of the iPhone 18 next year:
“an aged iPhone installed base in need of upgrades — combined with the first-ever Foldable iPhone and 6 total new iPhone launches next cycle…supports high-single digit Y/Y iPhone revenue growth extending into FY27, even before we make any assumptions around AI.”
That last line is interesting. Essentially, the strength of the iPhone 17 line has raised sales expectations for iPhone 18 without any assumptions baked in about Apple’s AI strengths—or lack thereof—in the year ahead.
Apple is expected to offer its next quarterly earnings report at the end of October, so we’ll have a better picture of how the iPhone 17 line is performing then.
What has your sense been of interest level with friends and family around the iPhone 17 line? Let us know in the comments.
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