Morgan Stanley gives Apple an “Overweight” rating: iPhone demand remains strong, upgrade cycle may be underestimated

Golden Ten Data, March 23rd｜A survey released by Morgan Stanley shows that Apple Inc.'s (AAPL.US) iPhone sales performance remains "consistently strong," and the user upgrade rate has reached a record high. The firm's analyst, Erik Woodring, gave Apple an "Overweight" rating with a target price of $315. He stated that, based on the survey results, Apple is expected to be the only major smartphone designer to gain market share this year. In his client report, Woodring wrote: "In our AlphaWise smartphone survey through the end of 2025, Apple performed exceptionally well. In particular, the smartphone upgrade rate in China increased by 9 percentage points compared to the same period last year; the global iPhone consolidated upgrade rate climbed to the highest level in the survey's history; the proportion of users switching to Apple reached its peak over the past five years; the average storage capacity expected by users showed strong growth, increasing by 18% year-on-year; and user interest in a foldable iPhone was high, accounting for 27% of the sampled installed user base."